South Carolina Woman Credited for First Black Barbie In Netflix Documentary
If there is one thing I am truly interested in, it’s documentaries. I love learning and watching things that allow me to learn something new. Netflix just recently released a new documentary titled, Black Barbie. The documentary focuses on the untold story of the first Black Barbie and how it truly changed the culture of doll making.
As a young woman, I remember the effect that Barbie dolls had on me and how amazing it was to be able to get dolls that I felt truly reflected me as a person. Although I had Black Barbie dolls and knew my mom and grandma talked about never having those when they were younger, I never truly knew the story and history of the first Black Barbie.
Barbie dolls first hit the shelves of stores in 1959, but it took a little bit longer before the first Black Barbie joined the team. In the 60s, Mattel created a handful of black dolls that were designed to be Barbie’s alleged “sidekick” but not the star quality that Barbie had. Nearly two decades later, the first Black Barbie doll hit the shelves for consumers to buy.
How Did the First Black Barbie Doll Come About?
In 1959, Beulah Mae Mitchell, a Black line worker at Mattel, gave a suggestion to the team that a Barbie doll be created that looked like her. She took the idea to Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator. The creation of the Black Barbie doll then started with the idea of a more diverse range of dolls in the Barbie collection to reflect all of the different races and cultures.
Although Mitchell threw out the idea, the brainchild behind the first Black Barbie is Kitty Black Perkins. This South Carolina native grew up never owning a Barbie doll of her own. Though she was never able to afford a doll of her own or see a Black version, she took the matter into her own hands. As a couture designer, she began designing styling for dolls and other companies. Perkins went on to interview with Toys R Us and purchased her first Barbie doll for the interview. She then designed six outfits for her interview instantly impressed the hiring director and became the first Black designer for Barbie in 1976.
Once the first Black Barbie came out, many pushed that it was time for little black girls to finally have a doll that they could relate to and felt was another piece of them. Black Barbie officially hit the shelves in 1980. Today, there are dozens of Black Barbie dolls styled after some of your favorite celebrities even such as Tina Turner, Misty Copeland, Beyonce, Gabby Douglas, and MORE!
Check out the trailer for the new Black Barbie documentary now on Netflix.
