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American Black Beauty Doll Association

We Love Black Dolls

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Share Our Dream

It is our intention to establish a better understanding and appreciation of the importance of dolls of color as play and learning tools for our children.

Mission Statement

American Black Beauty Doll Association (ABBDA) wishes to invite you to share our dream and vision of a better place. It is our intention to establish a better understanding and appreciation of the importance of dolls of color as play and learning tools for our children; promoting an exchange of ideas and experiences; studying ways and means of increasing the volume, beauty, availability and quality of dolls of color on the market; elevating the self-esteem of our children by making images available to them that represent them in a positive manner; and elevation of the status of our profession and individual members of the organization by continually upgrading and refining our skills in all aspects of doll-making. You are a part of that vision and we wish to share it fully with each and every one of you.

Our Story

In 1984 Vanessa Williams became the first African-American woman  to be crowned Miss America; The Cosby Show premiered and  portrayed the black family in a positive light; Run D.M.C. became the  first rappers to have a certified gold album; and six women from  Oakland, California, with numerous creative backgrounds, came  together to forge an alliance to create beautiful black dolls to inspire,  motivate, teach and uplift children of color.

Karen Oyekanmi, a young mother and artist had a desire for her  daughter to play with dolls that reflected her beauty. In 1983 it was  nearly impossible to find any black dolls in retail stores, especially  ones that reflected a positive image.

So, in 1984 Karen decided to bring together a small but determined  group of black artists with a common mission - to create black dolls in  a positive image for children of color. Grace Brodus, Florence May,  Cheryl Buckley, Gail Ellis, Audrey Ellis and Karen Oyekanmi founded  the American Black Beauty Doll Club (ABBDC). They took time  researching the doll market, networking with the community  and perfecting their skills as black doll artists.

In September 1985, ABBDC sponsored the first Festival of Black Dolls  Show & Sale in Oakland, California. Each year the Festival brings  together thousands of unique beautiful black dolls and hosts talented  doll artists from all over the country, all under one roof.

Envisioning an organization that not just appreciates but supports and  fosters the creativity of black doll artists, the American Black Beauty  Doll Club changed its name to the American Black Beauty Doll Artists,  in 2002. To further our purpose, we incorporated and became a  501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, becoming the American Black  Beauty Doll Association (ABBDA) in 2018.

American Black Beauty Doll Association is the oldest black doll  organization in the United States. Our mission is to continue to build a  better understanding and appreciation of the importance of dolls of color for

play, collecting and as positive learning tool for our children and adults as  well. ABBDA stands firmly by our mission to work to increase the volume,  availability and quality of dolls of color in the marketplace. To elevate the

self-esteem of our children by creating positive images and heightening the  awareness of the importance of black dolls and dolls of color in our  community and across the nation.

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