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For each doll
collector, there was an impetus that prompted them to collect dolls.
The question, “What made you fall in love with Black dolls?”
was posed to several Black Doll-E-Zine readers. Just like their tastes in Black dolls, the
answers were varied and quite interesting.
Some of the answers and a photo of a doll from the
collector's collection are included below:
 "
What a question. It's got me to
thinking again.
"I have always loved Black dolls because my mother always provided them to
us. However, I loved them even more when I saw there was a LACK of Black
dolls
when I tried to purchase them for [my] daughter in Bloomsburg PA, a predominately white town.
"I like any doll that touches my heart -- toddler, fashion dolls, etc. I do have a tendency to prefer the 1960's-70's dolls of my youth. And of course, I will always love my Tressy and Velvet doll. -
Sharon R."
(Sharon's 1960's
American Character, Tressy is pictured on the left.)
~~~~~~
 "I
started out getting any doll that I thought was cute. As my collection
grew, I decided that I needed to concentrate on one thing or I would run
out
of room. I decided that it would be black antique or vintage dolls because
I
thought that would limit the numbers. I never liked Barbie. When I saw
Tangerine Twist on HSN and she had black features, I became hooked on
Black Barbies. Not until I joined WeLoveBlackDolls did I start getting so many black dolls
that weren't antique/vintage.
"I prefer dolls that were before 1950. The thrill in collecting is getting something unusual or hard to find. Since those are few, I prefer toddlers &
little girls that stand. I guess I'm still trying to make up for the girl that I didn't have. I prefer to not get dolls that only sit because you can fit more standing dolls in a given space. Always Blessed - Ruth M."
(The 30-inch doll above left is an
extremely rare and hard-to-find Black Cinderella or Black Rosemary from
the 1950s made by Deluxe. The doll was a childhood doll of one of Ruth's friends
who had named the doll "Vera." After "Vera" was given
to Ruth, the surname "Caviar" was added. Even though
she is actually Black Cinderella or Black Rosemary, in Ruth's collection,
she is Vera Caviar!)
~~~~~~
"Because of my love of
history I developed a love for Black Dolls. I love all dolls, but through
black dolls I saw a social history of Black people. I find the evolutionary
history of Black dolls fascinating. Plus I love them for their
uniqueness, "rarity," beauty; and they represent me and people I
love. Bonnie" (Pictured
left is "Pearl" from the Country House, a doll from Bonnie's
collection.)
~~~~~~
 "Seeing
Yolando Bello's Danielle in the Sunday paper magazine section in 1991 [is
what made me fall in love with Black dolls]. It was the same year I
lost my Dad. :-( When I received that doll, I was hooked. It
was the first Black doll (besides a Barbie) that I can remember owning.
Vicky"
~~~~~~
"Daddy’s
Long Leg dolls did it for me... when I took off the top of the little
old lady, and saw that she had realistic sagging breasts! Linda
H." (Linda's
Daddy's Long Legs, Bessie, is pictured
on the left.)
~~~~~~
 "In
my early life, I loved stuffed animals and had very few dolls. I know I
had a White Bride Doll around the age of 7, but can't remember any
others. I started loving Black dolls when I fell in Love with a Black
man, 29 years ago. I wanted a baby like him, so I bought the large
& small Black Gerber Babies. They were my first Black dolls.
Then as I started collecting Daddy's Long Legs, I realized that none of
them looked like anybody I knew, plus they didn't have the various skin
tones, and they were not soft
& cuddly. Then I collected Black Cabbage Patch Kids, they were
soft & cuddly, but they still didn't look like anybody I knew.
Then I decided to create my own soft sculpted fabric doll of the man
I loved, to have always, to
put my arms around, when the real man was not around. To me dolls
are representative of people, ones you know and love and want to have
around you. This is why Jimmy is sitting right here on my desk, watching
me work, and close when I need a hug!
"This
is why I Love Black Dolls! Janice" (Jimmy,
the doll in the photo, is a soft-sculptured doll made by Janice.)
~~~~~~
 "According
to my parents, I've always preferred Black dolls. When I was 2, I
asked for a particular Black doll that my parents desperately but
unsuccessfully tried to locate. Finally, they purchased the White
version of the doll, wrapped it, and placed it under the Christmas tree.
After opening it, they say my face dropped, and I told them that Santa made
a mistake and brought me the wrong baby. When they told me that was
the doll I had told Santa I wanted, I replied that I told him that she was
cute but I wanted a Black one. Several months later, my parents
finally located and purchased a Black version of the doll, which made me
very happy. That was the end of that...so they thought. The
next Winter, at the ripe old age of 3, when I visited Santa at the mall,
the first thing I said was, "You brought me the wrong doll last year.
I asked for a Black 'Baby whatever' (my parents don't remember which
particular doll it was); but you made a mistake and brought me a White one.
If I had a baby, ‘her’ would be Black, ‘her’ wouldn't be
White.
Manya"
(Jasmine, a ballerina by Rotraut
Schrott for GADCO, pictured left, is part of Manya's collection.)
~~~~~~
 "I think it might be just
because of
my awareness of the beauty of my black people... how black dolls show the
beauty of black people and the diversity in what is beautiful in black
people."
"Of
course, as a child I did not like black dolls [because] the ones I had
seen of my friends did not have hair that could be washed and styled.
Like many of us, the hair kinked up on the doll and was useless
after getting wet. Therefore, I preferred white dolls. I never had a
black doll anyway, just out of non-availability compared to white dolls.
Even though I lived in
an all black community, my preference for white dolls probably had a lot
to do with the perception of black being not as pretty or good as white.
I don’t know how that subliminal message got to me, surrounded as I was
by black professional, blue collar and every other kind of black people,
but it did. I had to purge it
on my own some years later in my teens when I became more militant and
activist. Once I did and could fully appreciate the beauty of my
people, I appreciated all the beauty that goes with it. This carried
over to dolls and when I started to collect I was naturally inclined to
[collect] black dolls as I was with any kind of art, as well. That
continues today although I can appreciate the beauty of, and have a few,
white dolls too. Peace & Blessings to you!
Cheryl B."
(Will and Seraphina by Philip Heath are from Cheryl's
collection.)
~~~~~~
 "My
reason for first starting to collect black dolls was what seemed obvious
at first to me. I wanted baby dolls that looked like my baby.
"Now
I would say I steer towards only black dolls because of the stereotype I
lived with all of my life that black was not as good as white. I don't
want [my daughter]
to ever think that being white is right. She is just now at 9 beginning to
appreciate black dolls for the beauty and not because it is all mom will
buy........LOL! ...
"My
true love right now are my big girls. They have their own area in the
living room and they can always bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart every time I look
at them.
In
His Love
- Steph
J." ("Beth,"
pictured on the left is one of Steph J's "big girls." Steph J. is also the talented reborn doll artist of BrownSugar Babies. See the News
page of this issue for more information about her reborn dolls.)
~~~~~~
 "Being a doll collector
kind of slipped up on me. I started collecting around 1987. I also took
issue [with] not being able to find "cute" black dolls for my
daughter and nieces. I hated Barbie because she just didn't look like my African
features. I wanted the wide
nose and big butt. As I
started seeing black dolls on sale or discounted, I would usually buy 2-3.
My collecting went into obsession when my nephew told me he wanted to be
white because everybody else was white, specifically Santa, Power
Rangers and Ninjas. I took my
collection out of the closet, trunk of my car, basement and attic. I
declared war and decided that he would find beauty in at least one piece
of the 450 dolls. Then the history of black dolls began. He is now 13 and
a collector of black character dolls. DB" (A
collector and artist, DB also makes several types of dolls. "Emmet" is
the first doll that DB made.)
~~~~~~
"Good question.
My answer to that is this group [WeLoveBlackDolls]. I mean, I
liked them well enough and had one or two for display. But once I
joined this group, I really started to LOVE and APPRECIATE Black dolls and
how they fit into my life. I can go home and pick up one of my little
beauties and it seems all of my worries go to the back of my mind. I
do LOVE them now… so thanks to this group!
Margaret" (Pictured on
the left are various dolls from Margaret's collection.)
~~~~~~
"
I don't remember when I fell in love with Black Dolls. I just think I
was "born" that way! LOL! I do remember though when
I started "collecting" Black Barbies and wondered "where
are the ones I had growing up?” I called my dad and he said, if
there were any of my dolls left they would be bald headed, because I
combed and combed and combed all of their hair out! Needless to say,
he didn't have any of them "tucked" away. For this reason,
I have made certain to save a few of my daughter’s dolls for that day
when she calls asking, "Mom, do you know where any of my dolls
are? Lee
J."
(Lee's Fantasy Goddess
of Africa Barbie is pictured on the left.)
~~~~~~
"I
started to collect black dolls because of a personal need to recognize
that God makes all sorts of people in all sorts of ways, to help
illustrate term papers I wrote for Civil Rights Movement support in the
1950s and, unfortunately, in rebelliousness from the prejudices and evil
opinions of many in my family. After returning from
Japan where [my husband] and I "made a baby" we lived in an integrated
neighborhood in
Minneapolis
and I grew to know and love people of color. My best friend when I worked
at Honeywell as an assistant purchasing agent was an African American
woman, Diane....a real sweetheart and we had so much in common! The
collection became a passion when I just decided that I liked having a
rainbow family in my doll collection. We taught our children to
appreciated dolls of different colors and cultures and they are teaching
their children the same. Besides all of this....I just like 'em!
KRaM" (Some of KRaM's Wendy Lawton
dolls are pictured above.)
~~~~~~
"As a child I only got white dolls. When I saw my first black doll it was love at first sight. I saw someone just like me,
black. For the first time I could hold the black doll from the catalog in
my arms and pretend she was my best friend and even though she belonged to
my real best friend, who cared nothing about black dolls, I could
not part with her; so she let me keep her. Oh my, did I love that
doll. But she had to stay hidden away from my mom. I remember every
day after school, rushing home to get her out of the closet, were I
kept her neatly put away... to pull the string, to hear her talk
and going to bed with her in my arms. Then one day after mistakenly
leaving her in my bed, mom found her and made me
return her. I thought my whole world had come to an end. It was like giving
away a part of me. Now I could only play with her when my friend
brought her over or when I went to her house, which was very often.
I
never got a black doll of my own and spent many years playing with my
friend's black dolls. When I was able to buy them for
myself, it made me feel that the part of me that was taken away as a child
had
finally returned home and I guess that's why I love them
so. Debra R." (Pictured
on the left are Debra's Patty Playpal and Playpal types.)
~~~~~~
Now,
what made YOU fall in love with Black dolls?
Email:
blackdollezine@sbcglobal.net
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