New boom in ethnic toys - toys for African-American children

Ebony, Nov, 1993

TOYS are an intrinsic part of childhood and their glorious magic helps a child's imagination sprout wings. But the purposes behind toys and playtime go far beyond the boundaries of amusement.

According to child psychologists and educators, toytime helps children develop motor skills, explore relationships and seek out hidden talents. And in more subtle ways, it molds children's notions about beauty, who they are and what they can become.

In the past, the messages Black children received from toys were anything but pleasant. Dolls were almost always blonde and blue-eyed with narrow, European features and most superheroes were lily-white. But today with a variety of ethnic toys on the market, Black child-care specialists say, Black superheroes, dolls and figurines with broad features, brown skin tones and other attractive Black features help instill positive self-images.

"It's important for us to be proactive in making sure that Black children embrace images that represent themselves and reinforce self-esteem and racial identity," says Dr. Darlene Powell Hopson, a child clinical psychologist, who along with her husband, clinical psychologist Derek S. Hopson, served as a consultant to Mattel Toys when the toy company launched its Shani line of fashion dolls. Dr. Darlene Hopson says toys and dolls are children's main way of communicating their feelings, thoughts and fantasies and that they are natural tools to teach values.

Dolls with glossy Black tresses and authentic African garb, superheroes who are as brown as they are brawny, books that put Black role models at center stage and games that make history fun to learn all play important roles in countering negative messages by bringing image-boosting toys to the forefront.

"Historically, we as African-Americans have always brought our struggle to our children on a daily basis, but alongside that, one needs to see accomplishments and the positive aspects of our culture," says Yvonne Rubie, president of the international Black Toy Association and inventor of the Hugg Bean doll. "The best way to reinforce that culture for young children is during playtime," she says. "If one is able to incorporate cultural messages within playtime, then one is able to put culture within a very positive light for children."

Other experts agree. "When a female or a male picks up a dark-skinned doll to play with and loves that doll, they are learning to love themselves," says Dr. janice Hale, an early childhood education professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, and author of Black Children: Their Roots, Culture and Learning Styles.

Ethnic toys need not be the only play items peeking out of a Black child's toy chest, but Black toys should be an integral part of their play arena, experts say. "We want them to love self," Dr. Hopson says.

For in order to appreciate others, Black children must first learn to appreciate self. "If children grow up with things that are like themselves, they will tend to like themselves or at least identify themselves with that positive image," Rubie says.

It was that kind of thinking that led Dr. Melvin Chapman, retired executive deputy superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools, to develop the Cammie Goes to College doll. "I felt that a doll has to have some redeeming value. It's not enough to have just a toy. If you can combine fun and motivation," he says, "you're giving the child enjoyment, but you're also taking a look at the child's future."

This is especially essential for Black children, Dr. Chapman says, because Black children aren't born into a society that validates their value and distinctiveness. "White kids already have a sense of entitlement as if [their distinction] comes with the territory. But our children aren't born into that atmosphere," Dr. Chapman says. "That atmosphere of expectancy has to be created for them."

And the creation of Black dolls with inspiring themes, games, puzzles, action figures and fashion figurines that promote healthy racial attitudes help to do just that.

"There will always be a market for ethnic toys because the basic factors are still there and still need to be answered: who am I, what do I represent, who are my people and what is my culture like," Rubie philosophizes. "If you can incorporate these kinds of answers in the early learning experiences of children through playthings, then you will always be able to assist that child to identify positively with self."