Recently, I saw a very hurtful video of two young “white” girls reacting negatively to receiving “black” baby dolls for Christmas. I decided to post a video of my own daughters with their African American "Truly Me" American Girl dolls as a response. Little did I know that in a matter of a few days, my video would go viral and be viewed by millions of people. We were even featured by Upworthy and made the national news! As the comments and messages poured in by the thousands, it became even clearer to me that this is an important issue in our country, and that people are ready for change.

I am now teaming up with A.R.R.O.W, a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia that is dedicated to eliminating racism through racial healing. We share the philosophy that no child is born racist, that hate and intolerance are learned. By teaching our children about racism and injustice early and often, we can sow the seeds for a better tomorrow; a society in which we treat people based upon the content of their character, not the color of their skin. But it’s not going to happen if we remain passive. We need to be active in order to effect change, and we believe American Girl can help.

American Girl has dolls of many different ethnicities and skin colors. However, since 2001 when the Girl of the Year trend started, there has never been an African American Girl of the Year. We think it’s time for a change. We are calling on American Girl to create an African American character for the 2017 Girl of the Year. We ask not only for the African American community to be represented in physical characteristics, but also for the topic of racial healing to be introduced in the accompanying book series.

Why is this so important?

 African American girls in this country constantly see “white” standards of beauty in the media: from movie stars, television screens, magazine pages, and the depiction of beautiful princesses.  It is hard to feel beautiful in your own skin if you so rarely see a reflection of yourself in the dominant culture; this is a deep psychological wound that damages their self-esteem indefinitely.  An African American Girl of the Year would be someone these girls can be proud of, identify with, and share with friends.

 It is also very important for European American children to have dolls of different ethnicities. Children use toys as learning tools to develop their imagination, self-esteem, and beliefs about themselves and others. Dolls are a very important type of toy because they represent people. If our girls play with dolls of different ethnicities, love them and care for them, and treat them as friends, they will begin to learn a very important lesson on how they view and treat real people who look differently than they do.

 Please sign our petition and let American Girl know that you support this effort as a concerned citizen, parent, or consumer. We want them to know that parents of all ethnicities will support this endeavor by purchasing the dolls for their children.