Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the songs, the movies, the decorations and pretty much everything about the Yuletide season. A month ago I made a list of toys I wanted to buy my son (2) and daughter (10 mo) for Christmas. The first toy on the list for my daughter is a doll, her first doll. I never thought it would be so difficult to find a African American doll that is appropriate for a 10 month old.
I found dolls I just absolutely loved but didn’t come in an African American version. Years ago my aunt told me about her search for an African-American Raggedy Ann. This was in the pre-internet days so this meant calling and driving to stores. She ended up getting someone to make a African-American Raggedy Ann doll. It became my favorite doll and made every major move right along with me. She even went off to college with me.
I found dolls I just absolutely loved but didn’t come in an African American version. Years ago my aunt told me about her search for an African-American Raggedy Ann. This was in the pre-internet days so this meant calling and driving to stores. She ended up getting someone to make a African-American Raggedy Ann doll. It became my favorite doll and made every major move right along with me. She even went off to college with me.
It was difficult to find African-American dolls when I was a child, but my family felt it important for me to have dolls that looked like me. Now that I have a daughter I want her to have dolls that look like her because I believe it will have a positive affect on her self image and her perception of beauty. So the search for the perfect doll for my daughter continues.
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