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American Girl dolls are iconic. Over 29 million dolls and 153 million books have been sold so far. The company has been around since 1986 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, the doll manufacturer is releasing a new historical doll to mark an important era in American history.
Telling a significant story
The characters that American Girl creates always come with rich backstories set in different eras. There are dolls set during the American Revolution, the Great Depression, World War II, etc. Julia Prohaska, the vice president of marketing, sees the company more as a storyteller rather than doll a maker. The dolls help girls learn history and tap into the imagination.
“I think it’s that we stayed true to our mission and purpose and while it’s easy to call us a doll company, we’ve always seen ourselves as storytellers,” she said. “We put at the center stories and advice for girls that really are intended to help them be their personal best.”
This summer, a new story will be told – the story of Melody Ellison. Melody is a nine-year-old girl who lives in 1960s Detroit, during the civil rights movement. This is when African-Americans fought for desegregation and full rights. The American Girl website site describes her as a girl who loves to sing and perform in church. It is stated that her stories will be set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, as well as success and popularity of Motown Records and its artists.
“As Melody gains more awareness of racial inequality and her sense of community grows from her extended family to include her neighborhood and, ultimately, all African Americans, she is inspired by Dr. King to have a dream of her own: to lift her voice for fairness and equality.”
Adding diversity
Melody will be the third black American Girl doll. The first was Addy, a girl who escaped slavery during the Civil War. The second was Cecile, set in 19th-century New Orleans. The company has been criticized in the past for lacking diversity, especially when it chose to discontinue Cecile and Ivy Ling, the only Asian American doll. Prohaska explained that the company wanted to carefully handle how it narrates black history.
“When we launched Addy, the universal feeling was that we needed to address the very difficult topic of slavery before we addressed any other experience in black history,” she said.
The civil rights movement is one of the most important eras in black history. When asked why did it take so long to tell a story like Melody’s, she added:
“We do approach every character very thoughtfully so this isn’t something we rush into. We’re not looking to address critical demand — we’re looking to tell stories in the most authentic and genuine way that we possibly can.”
SEE ALSO: South African Girls Are Falling In Love With A Stylish Black Doll.
