May 25, 2015

Black Mother Creates

Black Doll

With Natural Hair

For Daughters

Reported by Liku Zelleke

A mother of two realized her daughters were starting to question her about things like their hair texture and the shapes of their noses after noticing these features looked different on the dolls they played with.

“My daughter Sophia was not happy with her kinks and curls because of the doll I was putting in her hands every day,” Angelica Sweeting told reporters.

Taking matters into her own hands, the 27-year-old from Miami, Florida went ahead and created a “beautiful brown doll” with a full head of naturally-curled locks that can be washed, dried, twisted and styled.

“Sophia wanted long straight hair, and she even started expressing a strong dislike for her facial features and skin tone,” Sweeting said. She and her husband initially considered “burning every doll” Sophia owned, but soon realized that it wouldn’t be the right solution to the problem.

And so, Sweeting sat down and created a doll she thought her children could relate to, and The Angelica Doll was born: an 18-inch doll with “the face of a beautiful brown girl including a full nose, fuller lips, beautiful cheek bones and brown eyes.”

Once she realized the doll was a hit with her own kids, Sweeting realized she had created a toy that could give confidence to other young girls by changing the way they perceived themselves. Deciding to share her creation, she turned to Kickstarter to seek the funding she would require to mass-produce her doll.

Almost immediately after creating her page, it received wide attention and the donations from supportive people soon surpassed the $25,000 mark she had initially set for the launch of her project.

Sweeting’s message on her Kickstarter page is a message many people will find deep, from the heart, and one they can truly identify with:

“As I began to develop the Angelica Doll and give serious thought to the things I wanted to do for young girls, I realized that I had been influenced by society’s standard of beauty for as long as I could remember.

“I want this to happen earlier, not only for my daughters but for your daughter, your niece, your sister, and for all young girls around the world. I want this to happen for all the young girls who never felt pretty enough because of their kinks, curls, wider noses or fuller lips.

“Beauty comes in so many colors and The Angelica Doll was created to help open the eyes of young girls to the complete spectrum of beauty.

“Our girls need to see a reflection of their own unique beauty.

“It’s time for our young girls to have a new standard.”

You can donate to Sweeting’s Kickstarter here.

>via: http://naturallymoi.com/2015/05/black-mother-creates-black-doll-with-natural-hair-for-daughters/