Barbie doll honors the black American journalist Ida B Wells

Mattel has created a Barbie doll to honor the black American journalist Ida B Wells, who was born into slavery and famously helped to found the NAACP.

Wells, who was born into slavery in Mississippi in 1862 during the Civil War, was a skilled writer who used her skills as a journalist to draw attention to the conditions experienced by African Americans in the South.

She was an activist and researcher who battled sexism and racism across the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founding the National Association of Colored Women’s Club and helping to set up the NAACP.

Now, Wells is being honoured by Mattel as the toy company have created a Barbie doll of the prominent civil rights leader.

© Provided by Daily Mail
Ida B Wells (pictured in 1920) was an activist and researcher who battled sexism and racism, who helped to set up the NAACP in 1909

© Provided by Daily Mail
Now, Wells is being honoured by Mattel as the toy company have created a Barbie doll of the prominent civil rights leader

Announcing the news, an Instagram account for Barbie said the Ida B Wells doll is the newest in its Inspiring Women series.

Although a price for the new Barbie doll has not yet been confirmed, it will be available at major retailers from January 17.

The statement said: ‘Barbie is proud to honor the incredible Ida B. Wells as the newest role model in our Inspiring Women series, dedicated to spotlighting heroes who paved the way for generations of girls to dream big and make a difference.’

It is not the first Barbie inspired by female figures, as there are also dolls inspired by the late Dr. Maya Angelou, singer Ella Fitzgerald, nurse Florence Nightingale and civil rights activist Rosa Parks, among others.

Wells famously filed a lawsuit against a train car company in Memphis in 1884 for unfair treatment after she was thrown off a first-class train, despite having a ticket.

She won the case on a local level but the ruling was eventually overturned in a federal court. 

In 1893, Wells joined other African American leaders in calling for a boycott of the World’s Columbian Exposition, accusing them of negatively portraying the black community. 

She also confronted white women in the suffrage movement for ignoring lynching and helped to found the National Association of Colored Women’s Club, which was set up to address issues of civil rights and women’s suffrage.

From 1898 to 1902, Wells served as secretary for the National Afro-American Council and in 1909, she was involved in the Niagara Falls meeting that saw the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) founded.

The new Ida B Wells doll is part of Barbie’s Inspiring Women collector series, which launched in 2018 and includes famous figures such as Sally Ride, Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks.

Last January, the late author and activist Dr. Maya Angelou was added to the collection with her very own Barbie doll.

Though Angelou, who died in 2014 at age 86, did not live to see the doll, her son Guy Johnson expressed excitement over the honor at the time.

‘My mother, Dr. Maya Angelou, was a pioneer and an activist with an invincible spirit for justice,’ he said in a statement.

‘Through her words and actions, she developed a unique ability to create deep connections with people around the world. She used to say, “I write from the Black perspective, but I aim for the human heart”.’  

Other dolls in the series include singer Ella Fitzgerald, nurse Florence Nightingale, women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, tennis player Billie Jean King, and astronaut Sally Ride.

Past dolls in the series, which are no longer available on the Mattel website, include artist Frida Kahlo, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, and aviator Amelia Earhart 

‘These historical women broke boundaries that made the world a better place for future generations of girls,’ a previous press release explained. 

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