The First Black Barbie With Down Syndrome Was Designed By A Black College Student – Essence

Mattel just introduced the first Black Barbie with Down syndrome on Tuesday as a part of its Fashionistas Collection. The toy company partnered up with the National Down Syndrome Society, Clemson College student Taylor Freeman, her mother and other Black families with connections to the Down syndrome community provided input on the new doll’s design.

Taylor was born with Down syndrome, but her mom Ayoca Freeman always wanted her daughter to feel like she could do anything. “She has done whatever she wants to do. She’s in a marching band, she’s been prom queen, she has a learning permit, she has a car and she can drive. We have not put any roadblocks or anything there because of her diagnosis because that’s only a part of who she is, is not who she is.”

Taylor, Acoya and five other Black families were part of a focus group that met for a year to help with the design. “Taylor, as a little girl, played with Barbies. And I would’ve never dreamed in a million years that we would have a Barbie that has Down syndrome in our home,” Ayoca continued. “I would’ve never, never ever imagined this. It’s an honor to be part of something so special, and it’s a blessing to have a doll that looks like my daughter, who does have a disability.”

“She has an oval-shaped face, slanted eyes, her nose is flat,” Ayoca added. “She has a long torso. When you’re born with this syndrome, you have a little less muscle tone, so this doll shows some of those characteristics.”

When Taylor saw the finished doll she was overjoyed, excitedly saying “Her braids look like me, her glasses are like me.”

Braids were on of the key features that the focus group requested along with the glasses, which are representative of “individuals with Down syndrome who often experience difficulties with their vision.”  

“We recognize that Barbie is much more than just a doll; she represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging,” said the senior vice president of Barbie Krista Berger.

Per a statement, “NDSS is thrilled to introduce a second Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Having this doll launched alongside the new Barbie doll with Blindness marks another important step in expanding representation for the disability community,” said Kandi Pickard, the president and CEO of National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). “We are proud to partner with Barbie as they grow to reflect our diverse and beautiful world.”

This new Black Barbie was introduced alongside a blind Barbie doll as a part of the Barbie Fashionistas line, which “offers more than 175+ looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and fashions.”

When Mattel introduced the first Barbie doll with Down syndrome last year, it won the Toy Association’s Corporate Social Responsibility Imitative of the Year award.