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.

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.

March 9 marks National Barbie Day. The iconic toy officially debuted over 60 years ago at the American International Toy Fair in New York, according to Barbie Media. It wasn’t until 1979 that Mattel’s first African American "Barbie" hit the scene. It was available for purchase a year later, in 1980. The first Black Barbie was designed by Louvenia “Kitty” Black Perkins, a South Carolina native. As reported by Dolls Magazine, Perkins landed an interview with Mattel after answering a blind ad.

Even though Black Barbies did exist in the “Barbie-verse" prior to 1980, there wasn’t a stand-alone doll in retail. There were three black fashion dolls from Mattel, Francie (1967), Christie (1968), and Julia (1969), according to Dolls Magazine.

Mattel has since then produced dolls reflecting all body types and skin tones. They even revamped the historic Black Barbie in 2020. You may even remember dolls with the likeness of  Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, Halley Barry, Destiny’s Child, Raven-Symone, Brandy, and Nicki Minaj. Most recently, Mattel debuted the Disney Little Mermaid Ariel Doll, inspired by the movie featuring singer and actress Halle Bailey.

Here is a list of 19 influential Black Barbie Dolls.

The Ida B. Wells doll is a part of the “Barbie Inspiring Women” series. This collectible pays tribute to Wells, a journalist, researcher, and outspoken activist for civil rights. Born into slavery in 1862, Wells co-owned and edited a Memphis newspaper where she wrote about inequality affecting African-Americans.

Barbie recognized the works of Rosa Parks in their “Barbie Inspiring Women” series. Parks was an activist in the civil rights movement best known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott. In 1957, she moved to Detroit and continued fighting for civil rights until her death in 2005.

Released in 2018, Barbie recognized Katherine Johnson as a role model. Paying tribute to the mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many air crafts. Co-authoring over 20 research reports during her career with NASA.

Barbie honored Madame C.J. Walker with a collectible doll recognizing her success as an entrepreneur and the nation’s first documented self-made woman millionaire. She also developed ‘Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower’ in 1906 for African American hair care.

The limited-edition Misty Copeland Barbie recognized her as the first African American woman to be appointed as a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre.

The Gabby Douglas Barbie doll features the likeness of the gymnast. Honoring Douglas as the first woman of color to win the Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics individual all-around competition in 2012. She also won the 2015 World all-around silver medal.

Barbie named African-Asian American Naomi Osaka a Role Model. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam tennis champion and the first Asian player to hold the number one ranking.

Barbie created a Dina Asher-Smith doll to celebrate International Women’s Day in 2020. Asher-Smith is the British record holder for the 100-meter and 200-meter and the British indoor record holder for the 60-meter.

Barbie honored Ibtihaj Muhammad for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing at the Olympic Games. She is a well-known fencer and a member of the United States fencing team.

Halle Bailey is one-half of the due Chloe x Halle. Recently, she shared a Disney Little Mermaid Barbie that resembled her in the role of the upcoming movie. This doll will be available for purchase on April 23, 2023, according to Amazon.

Barbie featured a doll with the likeness of actress and LGBTQ+ advocate Laverne Cox. She is also known as the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a scripted TV show.

Zendaya Barbie honors the actress for standing up for her culture. The doll resembles her iconic Oscar look that was criticized back in 2015.

Barbie gifted Yara Shahidi with a “shero” doll made in her likeness. Shahidi was one of the 20 role models honored by the doll creator from their 60th Anniversary collection.

The Barbie Inspiring Women Dr. Maya Angelou Doll is a collector’s item. The Angelou doll pays tribute to her works as a writer, author, activist, and teacher.

The Ava Duvernay Barbie doll sold out in minutes according to the Hollywood Reporter. Duvernay’s doll was a part of six dolls based on inspirational women in the entertainment industry. She is known for writing and directing movies and TV shows that explore the experiences of African Americans.

Barbie created the Ella Fitzgerald doll to pay tribute to one of the most popular jazz singers in the world.

Bessie Coleman became the first Black and Native American female aviator and the first Black person to earn an international pilot’s license. Barbie created a doll in her likeness as part of the Inspiring Women Series.

The toy company made Adowa Aboah into a Barbie. The British activist and model has a doll that is a part of the Mattel Barbie "Shero" collection.

Mattel is modeled a Barbie doll after space scientist Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She was named as a Barbie Role Model for her work promoting science careers to girls.