dana hill - an inconvenient truth
Founder, The Black Doll Affair
In the 1940s when the husband and wife team, African American psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted a study on black preschoolers, they discovered that black children often preferred to play with white dolls over black dolls and they identified darker dolls, like themselves, as being ugly. Nearly six decades later when teen filmmaker Kiri Davis recreated the study in 2006 and aired it on “Oprah,” she yielded nearly identical results.
“One little girl was asked: ‘Which doll is the bad doll?’ ” recalls Dana Hill. “She chose the black doll. [The interviewer] then asked: ‘Why is that the bad doll?’ and she said, ‘Because it’s black.’ You could see that she made a mental note ‘that means I’m a bad girl, too.’ ”
After viewing the emotional episode, Dana Hill created The Black Doll Affair, a free admission event that takes place Dec. 21, 2007, at Justin’s restaurant in Buckhead. The event’s goal is to increase black girls’ self-esteem and showcase the diversity of black beauty. Guests are encouraged to bring a black doll to donate.
“We’re going to have Chocolate Doll Martinis, soulful Christmas music and beautiful black models to hand out beautiful black dolls,” says Hill. “We’re not sending the message of ‘only buy a black doll.’ It is a ‘hey, remember that the black doll is a beautiful doll.’ Remember that little black girl who is sitting in her elementary class. I used to be that little girl. I may have been the only black doll in the room. I wish that I had [had] somebody to hand me [a] black Barbie.”
For its inaugural kickoff, The Black Doll Affair has teamed up with TabloidStyle.com and chosen the beautiful and affordable ‘Simply Charming Barbie’ as its official doll.
- adam jones
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