Toys of Color, Joy and Memories

By Bonnie Newman Davis

Today I finally put a wreath on my door and placed two of my favorite pieces on my mantel. My mother gave this Barbie to my daughter Erin in the early-to-mid 1990s. Seeing Christmas Barbie reminded me of Wanda Smalls Lloyd who is featured in my book, “Truth Tellers: The Power and Presence of Black Women Journalists Since 1960.”

In Wanda’s own book, “Coming Full Circle,” she writes about the influence of her mother, Gloria Walker, who was a senior executive buyer for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).
“Gloria’s categories ranged from automobile parts and accessories to women’s apparel, from luggage to watches,” Wanda writes. “But the area she most enjoyed was as a toy buyer. It was a big job during the Vietnam War era of the 1960s and early 1970s. The military ranks soared and AAFES became one of the world’s largest retail organizations. Gloria told me she had the second largest buying budget for toys worldwide—behind then-powerhouse Sears, Roebuck and Company.

As a businesswoman Gloria had one important thing going for her— clout. She had a vast budget and she represented an organization that was a perpetual retail customer. Being the renaissance woman she was, Gloria recognized quickly that all of the dolls and action figures were made in the image of white people. None looked like the vast number of African American families who were her customers, those serving in the U.S. armed forces. Thus began her quest to change the toy industry’s habit of producing only white dolls and expecting little black girls to identify with them, or producing G. I. Joe only in the image of white soldiers. She approached one company after another about designing dolls with African American features, breaking through norms of ignoring a segment of the buying population. Gloria personally worked with the CEOs of Hasbro and Mattel and they agreed to alter some of their toy designs.” Wanda S. Lloyd
Another link to the story of Black dolls and Barbie in particular: A documentary exists about the woman who helped create the Black Barbie. https://lnkd.in/ewt5ENEt