Little Addy Walker, Sitting On A Plantation

via The Beautiful Struggler - Me, Myself and Eye

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Picture this. Chicago, 1994.

We had been "accidentally" receiving a neighbor's American Girl catalogues for about a year. I poured over them each month or so, longing for the real-sized version of Samantha's clothes and wishing that there was a Black American Girl for me. White dolls did not fly in my house. My parents didn't buy them for me and I never asked for one. I did have a Latina Police Officer Barbie, but I just pretended she was light skinned. Until her, all my dolls were darker than me and I wanted for there to be one who looked more like I did.

Finally, the pre-Christmas catalogue comes and THERE IS A BLACK DOLL. Even though I was 9 and approaching the end of my interest in dolls, I practically peed on myself with excitement. I ran straight to my mother bent on demanding the $95 dollar doll.

Little Toldja: MOMMY! MOMMY! THERE IS A BLACK AMERICAN GIRL DOLL AND I WANT HER! HER NAME IS ADDY AND I HAVE TO HAVE HER FOR KWANZAA! I HAVE TO! I HAVE TO!

Mom: (excited) Really? A Black one? It's about time! Who is she?

Little Toldja: SHE IS A RUNAWAY SLAVE!

Mom: (silence)

Now, I was a very culturally aware little girl and I took Addy's story to be a great way to teach little girls who were not as aware as I about the cruelty of slavery. Her story (written by Connie Briscoe, who is a great author of adult lit as well) was very realistic and one that I think more children should read. However, there was a part of me then and now that wishes that Addy had instead been a girl Civil Rights Movement. A child of the 60s or 70's with a little doll Afro! While she is courageous (she and her family escape from slavery), she's still a tragic figure (she and her mother are separated from her father and brother and, yeah, SHE WAS A SLAVE).

Perhaps had there been another Black American Girl in the 15 years since Addy, that would make Adult Toldja feel a little bit better about her slave baby doll. In addition to the Historical collection, AG also makes the Girl Of The Year line: one modern doll per year with a special story. In 8 years, there hasn't been a Black one. I still love my Addy Walker and she has moved from my mother's house to Howard and all the way to Brooklyn with me. But I just wish that for all the little girls-Black, White and otherwise-who are still American Girl consumers, there was some other representation of Black American life beyond the horrors of the plantation.

I encountered a lot of White girls who had or really wanted Addy dolls, likely because kids seem to be fascinated by otherness. I like the idea of teaching little White kids about slavery but again, why is the ONLY historical girl a slave? I mentioned Addy once before and a commenter who is White with a mixed daughter mentioned that her little girl burst in to tears in the American Girl store upon discovering that the only Black AG was a slave.

We cannot solely rely upon non-Black companies to adequately represent us (even though criticism is still fair game). That said, I am interested in finding out about any Black owned doll manufacturers or any doll lines that have other historically accurate stories about Black life attached to them. When I was a kid, there was the Black owned Olmec company's multicultural dolls. Imani and Menelik where the Barbie and Ken of the line, decked out in classic 90's Kente looks:

I have this very doll in the box at home right now, thanks to the eBay gods!

Unfortunately, the company went under (and this book claims there was some crazy stuff going on between Olmec, the Clinton Administration and China) If you know of any existing companies, please shout them out in the comments section!

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