Exhibit showcases black dolls
In 1968, Shindana Toys created a doll named Nancy that was not like most other dolls at the time. Her skin was darker, she had different textured hair and her own hairstyles to match. Nancy was black and was the first mass-produced doll with “ethnically-correct” features.
Nancy and other dolls from Shindana Toys were among those featured at the annual Black Doll Show hosted by the William Grant Still Arts Center in South L.A. The exhibit showcased a variety of black dolls, including many made by black artists from the South L.A. community.
The Black Doll Show was started by activist and curator Cecil Fergerson in 1980. According to Ami Motevalli, the director of the William Grant Still Art Center, Fergerson was inspired to start the exhibit after being disturbed by a psychological test conducted 40 years earlier.
“[Fergerson] was watching an episode of Art Linkletter about the Kenneth and Mamie doll test, which put up a black doll and white doll to black children,” Motevalli said. “Many of the children chose the white doll, which Cecil found disturbing, and his response to it was the Black Doll Show featuring black artists.”
Motevalli says the exhibit is important to the community because it allows residents to see dolls that are no longer sold in stores.
This year’s Black Doll Show included three rooms of exhibits, each showcasing black dolls created from 1968 to 1983.
One of the rooms at this year’s exhibit was dedicated exclusively to Shindana dolls such as Nancy. According to “KCET,” before Shindana Toys created Nancy and other “ethnically-correct” black dolls, many of those that were available were offensive, often depicting stereotypes such as mammy. Other black dolls that were available before Shindana had European features and were simply painted black.
“Shindana’s whole purpose and mission was to change the way dolls looked,” Motevalli said. “When you saw manufactured dolls, which were not made by people who were of African descent, the dolls were the same and they just added tint to it and did not provide features to it.”
Motevalli said the Shindana’s creation of Nancy revolutionized the way black dolls were made. Before ceasing production in 1983, the company prided itself on diversity and created dolls representative of a variety of racial backgrounds, such as Asian and Hispanic dolls. This gave black families the option to purchase dolls that represented them authentically.
Shindana Toys also made a line of dolls wearing different career-inspired outfits such as the Wanda doll, which was based on an African American flight attendant. According to “Spectrum,” these dolls were designed to inspire young women to “pursue various professional careers.”
On the last day of this year’s Black Doll Show, Shani McNeil visited the exhibit. McNeil, a South Los Angeles resident, has been collecting black dolls made by Shindana Toys since she was a young girl and has passed them on to her daughter.
“The dolls are very unique, and I wish I could buy [the toys on display],” McNeil said. “There are a lot of dolls in terms of our culture that haven’t been represented for so long and to have this collection that has been going on for over 30 years, it’s amazing.”
