Source: Mattel / Getty
It looks like Babie creator Mattel is immortalizing Civil Rights legend Rosa Parks by making her the newest doll in their Inspiring Women Series.
According to AL.com,Mattel announced on Monday (August 26) that Parks’ doll would join other women who have played significant roles in history, including NASA Hidden Figure’s Katherine Johnson, astronaut Sally Ride, painter Frida Kahlo, and pilot Amelia Earhart.
Want gospel news at your fingertips? Text BMORE to 52140 to join our text club!
“Rosa Louise Parks led an ordinary life as a seamstress until an extraordinary moment on December 1, 1955,” Barbie’s description of the dolls reads.
“When she refused an order to give up her seat to a white passenger and move to the back of the bus, Mrs. Parks’ act of defiance became the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks’ quiet strength played a notable role in the civil rights movement, but it would still take another nine years and more struggles before the 1964 Civil Rights Act overruled existing segregation laws.”
In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton awarded Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom before she died in 2005.
“Both Sally Ride and Rosa Parks made the world better for future generations of girls,” a Mattel spokesperson told CNN, adding, “By celebrating their achievements with dolls made in their likeness, we hope girls will be inspired to pursue their dreams.”
As CNN noted, Mattel created this series after research showed that as young as the age of 5, young girls are less likely to view themselves and women as smart compared to young boys. So to help lessen that “Dream Gap,” the wanted to have dolls that were role models and had a rich history of hard work, sacrifice, and achievement.
Here’s a video about Barbie’s Dream Gap Project:
Want to get your little girl the Rosa Parks Barbie?
It’s available online now for $30 and comes with a doll stand, certificate of authenticity and educational information about her role in our beautiful Black and American history. And we’re for it! Our babies deserve to see themselves as sheroes!
#BlackExcellence: Barbie Debuts Rosa Parks Doll To Honor Inspiring Women was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
