After Mattel’s culture sweeping debut of Barbie in 1959, it took nearly 17 years for the brand to come out with a version of the collectible doll that represented more than one type of skin color.

highlights of which include Black Barbie (June 19), a Shondaland film that tells the story of Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride Irby—the three Black women at Mattel ...

In hindsight, I realize that the majority of the dolls I owned and saw in stores did not look like me — an experience many Black girls can relate to. When I was younger, many of Barbie's ...

Barbie was a a firefighter, a teacher, an actor, a lifeguard, a doctor. But it wasn’t until 1976, when Kitty Black Perkins joined the brand as Chief Designer of Fashion Doll concepts ...