When Barbie Stopped Being White

The story of the first Black doll to have the name Barbie.

Until 1980, Barbie was always white. Mattel had made Black dolls before, but they were sidekicks to the brand’s main character with facial features that didn’t really distinguish them from the other dolls. Correspondent Tracie Hunte brings you the story of the first Black doll to have the name Barbie. Hear from Kitty Black Perkins, Mattel’s first Black designer who brought her own style and preferences to the task of creating the doll. And Lagueria Davis, director of Black Barbie: A Documentary, on what her research taught her about Mattel’s early efforts to be more representative.

This episode was produced by Alana Casanova-Burgess and mixed by Mike Kutchman. Tracie Hunte is on X (Twitter) @traciehunte, and you can hear her in conversation about beauty with Tressie McMillian Cottom, author of “Thick: And Other Essays,” on this episode of our show (from November 3rd, 2022). For more of Barbie’s backstory, check out The Barbie Tapes, a special series from the LA Made podcast.

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“Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org.

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.