When Karen Braithwaite (pictured) could not find party supplies for her daughter’s fifth birthday gathering with images of Black Barbies, she took her gripe to Change.org and YouTube in order to twist the corporate arm of the famed doll’s manufacturer, reports CBS New York.
The Harlem-based, 40-year-old human resources manager could not fathom why the toy company makes Black Barbie dolls but failed to create a culturally diverse line of party goods that would follow suit. She refused to purchase supplies with images of blond-haired, blue-eyed Barbies for her daughter, Georgia (pictured), despite the child’s insistence.
Braithwaite is at the helm of the group of 14 Harlem moms who have taken up their concerns with Mattel. The Change.org online petition that Braithwaite started last month has thus far garnered nearly 5,000 signatures. The request has reportedly not fallen on deaf ears and the toy maker, which manufactured its first African-American doll, Christie, in 1968, is reportedly considering the move to create the cultural party supplies.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCJXk9uAeOI&w=420&h=315]
article via newsone.com
On Mattel’s social media page, the company tweeted two replies to people who brought the issue to their attention: “We work closely with our partners to develop and distribute Barbie products such as party supplies,” and “We will be sharing your valuable feedback with them to start conversations and evaluate the business.”
Posts published in “Games & Toys”
Topsy-Turvy Doll from the 1870s.
In February 21st’s issue of Collector’s Weekly, Associate Editor Lisa Hix wrote a thoughtful, in-depth article entitled “Black Is Beautiful: Why Black Dolls Matter.” Hix’ piece covers the comprehensive history of black dolls, from early 19th century Topsy Turvy dolls (pictured above) to Limited Edition Black Barbies (pictured below). GBN encourages you to click here to check it out.
Barbie Collector edition doll, called “In the Limelight” was the first featuring clothing by black designer Byron Lars.
Related Stories:
- Young Filmmaker Samantha Knowles asks ‘Why Do You Have Black Dolls?’ in her Debut Documentary
- Kenya Doll From The 90s Gets Relaunch This November
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Quincy Jones wants to improve our children’s music education and so the famed composer-producer has partnered up with app creator Chris Vance to launch Playground Sessions. The application will teach users how to read and play piano music with tutorials from pianist David Sides. Adults and children will receive real-time feedback as they attempt to master any of the 70 popular songs from artists like Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry included in the program. There’s “such a need for this,” Jones said. “The concept is brand new. I have been praying for this for a long time. It has a learning concept similar to Rosetta Stone. I’m blown away by this.”
Jones also added that children in the United States are behind other kids when it comes to music education and that Playground Sessions will give them an edge. Jones’ alma mater, Garfield High School in Seattle, will be one of the first to introduce the app to its students.
article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com
article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com
Soon, officials from digital game creators EA Sports, Activision and many others may beat a path to the doors of the Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, especially if the school continues to turn our prodigies like first-grader Zora Ball.
Ball has become the youngest individual to create a full version of a mobile application video game, which she unveiled last month in the University of Pennsylvania’s Bodek Lounge during the university’s “Bootstrap Expo.” Seven-year-old Ball has also become a master of the Bootstrap programming language, and when asked, Ball was able to reconfigure her application on the fly using Bootstrap.
A Teen Jeopardy contestant by the name of Leonard wasn’t sure of the answer to the game’s final question, but he knew one thing: He was a winner. He got a chuckle out of the host and a bunch of fans on Twitter when he revealed this response: “Who is … some guy in Normandy. But I just won $75,000!” Nice. We like the confidence. Uproxx explains why Leonard was so confident that he would come out ahead.
Watch the video here:
Watch the video here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvU_uJkOHH0&w=560&h=315]
article by Jenée Desmond-Harris via theroot.com
Samantha Knowles, 22, surrounded by the subject of her new 25-minute movie.
Sometimes, a doll is not just a doll. It’s a reminder of a child’s beauty and potential. No one understands that better than 22-year-old director Samantha Knowles, whose experience growing up as an African-American in a predominantly white community was the inspiration for her new documentary, “Why Do You Have Black Dolls?”
The 25-minute debut film about the significance of black dolls has been accepted at five film festivals and a trailer for “Why Do You Have Black Dolls” can be seen on Youtube.com.
“When I was 8, a white friend came over and innocently asked, ‘Why do you have black dolls?” remembers Knowles, who was raised in Warwick, N.Y., and now lives in Prospect Heights. “At the time, I obviously couldn’t really answer the question.” Fourteen years later, she can. Knowles, who initially made the film as her honors thesis at Dartmouth College, spent $6,000 and interviewed more than 20 dollmakers and historians, mostly in New York and Philadelphia.
“When I was 8, a white friend came over and innocently asked, ‘Why do you have black dolls?” remembers Knowles, who was raised in Warwick, N.Y., and now lives in Prospect Heights. “At the time, I obviously couldn’t really answer the question.” Fourteen years later, she can. Knowles, who initially made the film as her honors thesis at Dartmouth College, spent $6,000 and interviewed more than 20 dollmakers and historians, mostly in New York and Philadelphia.
Phiona Mutesi relishes her first victory at the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
(CNN) — She grew up in one of the poorest spots on earth. She couldn’t read or write. As a child, she scrounged for food each day for herself, her mother, and her brother. But a chance encounter with a chess coach turned her into a rising international chess star, the subject of a book — and the protagonist in a future Disney movie.
Ugandan teenager Phiona Mutesi is “the ultimate underdog,” her biographer says. Those who work with her believe she’s 16. But since her birthday is unclear, she might still only be 15, they say. Her father died from AIDS when Mutesi was around 3. “I thought the life I was living, that everyone was living that life,” the teenager told CNN, describing her childhood in Katwe, a slum in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
“I was living a hard life, where I was sleeping on the streets, and you couldn’t have anything to eat at the streets. So that’s when I decided for my brother to get a cup of porridge.”
Robert Katende, a missionary and refugee of Uganda’s civil war, had started a chess program in Katwe. He offered a bowl of porridge to any child who would show up and learn.
Photos courtesy of YouTube
Doc McStuffins, the star of this year’s breakout children’s show, has been officially dubbed the most sought-after gift this holiday season. The new doll has even unseated Elmo as this year’s must-have holiday toy. The Disney series was introduced in March and has surpassed Dora the Explorer as the top-rated cable TV show for kids, reports the New York Daily News.
Doc McStuffins is a 6-year-old African-American girl who treats sick toys.
Rochelle Ballantyne is a 17 year-old teenage girl from Brooklyn who is on her way to becoming the first Black female chess master. Ballantyne is one among a group of teens from I.S. 318 middle school in Brooklyn who will be the stars of a new documentary called “Brooklyn Castle”. The documentary chronicles the outstanding achievements of the middle school students.
65 percent of the students at I.S. 318 middle school in Brooklyn are living below the federal poverty level but the school still holds close to 30 national championships and is the highest ranked junior high team in the country. Rochelle is unique because until she joined the team, all the champions had been boys.
Ballantyne has been profiled in Teen Vogue where she shared her story and how she has stayed motivated along her amazing journey to chess stardom. The Brooklyn teen says that her grandmother is the woman behind much of her success.
She says:
“My grandmother taught me to play when I was in the third grade. I was really active as a child, and she wanted to find a way to keep me relaxed and get my brain going. When I first started playing, she introduced to me the idea of being the first African-American female chess master. I didn’t think about it much because for me it seemed like an impossible feat, and I didn’t think it could happen. I wasn’t as focused and dedicated as I am now. I didn’t think I was a good chess player—people told me I was, but it wasn’t my mentality at that moment. But then after she died, that really affected me, because she was the one person that always had confidence in me. She never pushed me, and she always respected me for who I was. I have to reach that goal for her.”
The popular Kenya dolls from the 1990s are back. Kenya first hit shelves in 1992 and became an overnight success — consistently selling out in stores across the country and ultimately becoming one of the cult favorite toys of the decade. Created to provide girls of color with a toy that reflected their appearance (both their skin tone and features) and could be used as a tool to instill self-esteem, the dolls are arguably just as important today as they were then. Kenya’s World LLC, the company relaunching the product line, is hoping the new dolls for the next generation of little girls will be as well-received when they hit shelves once again this November.