KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While it's only a coincidence Women's History Month and Barbie's birthday coincide, it's true that Barbie has influenced generations of girls and women since the doll first debuted on March 9, 1959.
"I'll have some cake, I'm not going to lie," said Sonya Larson, a Barbie collector in the Kansas City area.
Only so many of Larson's Barbies could make it into the temporary exhibit of Black Barbies at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. The collector said she has so many, she doesn't know the exact amount, but she estimates her collection sits around 1,000.
"That is the biggest thing for me, was being able to show that there are tons of Black Barbies out there that most people don't even know," she said.
From Rosa Parks to Bessie Coleman to Larson's very own version of a Barbie Ruby Bridges, her collection educates and inspires.
"I love history and I love learning, so I started this thing last year called the Doll Story Project," she said.
Larson, a substitute teacher, creates educational videos about the historical Barbie figures she owns. She takes the Barbies, paired with their respective stories linked to QR codes, to local schools and educates students about women's history.
"I thought, let's make a way for these historical figures to be out there and for people to learn about them in a fun and exciting way," she said.
Not only is it educational, it's inspirational.
"You can be an entrepreneur, you can be a chef, you can be a judge, you can be a pilot, anything you want to be, Barbie has done it," Larson said.
While Barbie debuted in 1959, it wasn't until 1980 that Larson could see herself in Barbie.
“So, there was Christie, there was Nickie, they were all Black friends of hers, but this was the first time a Black doll had the word Barbie," she said of Mattel's dolls.
When the first Black Barbie debuted in 1980, Larson said she had a hard time finding the doll in stores.
"I said to myself, ‘My little girl is never going to have that, she’s going to have all the Black Barbies she can choose from,’ and that’s where the collection started," Larson said.
Larson described the first Black Barbie as "amazing" and "powerful," noting her thanks for its designer, Kitty Black Perkins.
"Thank God for Kitty Black Perkins for seeing that, hey, little Black girls wanted to see themselves in Barbie as well," she said.
Last year, Larson got to meet Black Perkins.
"I told her thank you. I said, 'Thank you for creating a doll that looked like me.' And she said, 'That is exactly what I wanted to do,'" Larson said.
Larson's Barbies will be on display at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures until June.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
