Black Dolls

Black Dolls showcases handmade dolls that celebrate the complex beauty of Black life, primarily from 1850 to 1940. While the exhibition celebrates Black dolls and their makers, it also includes items with racist imagery and language to underscore the challenging circumstances in which the dolls were created.

The Strong is a highly interactive, collections-based educational institution devoted to the study and exploration of play and its history. Black history is American history. Black Dolls immerses visitors in the world of dolls, doll making, and doll play while examining the formation of racial stereotypes and confronting the persistence of racism in American history. Play shapes and reflects culture, and so this is a story that The Strong needs to explore.

One of the sections of the exhibit talks about Jim Crow, a decades-long system designed to maintain the power of white men and women after the emancipation of enslaved peoples in 1865. Laws, policies, entertainment, scientific and theological training, general education, and even games that children played were all used to perpetuate the fear and disdain of Black citizens. The dolls featured in the exhibition are a subtle form of resistance that demonstrate how Black people asserted their humanity in the face of entrenched racism and oppression.

Black Dolls offers a family friendly guide for our younger guests. Look out for the cut-out of the doll in the red dress for ways to discuss more sensitive topics, such as racism, with children.

Look out for me! I am here to help younger guests explore this exhibit. Are you ready? Let’s go!