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Diversity of the American Girl Dolls by Sarah F.

February 24, 2021 by GirlAGain 5 Comments

Kaya
Kaya is a member of the Nez Perce tribe in 1764

Representing all girls in American history

When Pleasant Rowland introduced The American Girls Collection in 1986, there were only dolls of one race. After a few years, American Girl introduced some dolls of different races for girls to connect with.

Addy
Addy Walker escaped to freedom in 1864 and went to school in Philadelphia.

For example, Addy Walker who was released in 1993 was the first African American Girl Doll to be released. Josefina Montoya was released after Addy in 1997 and is Latino.  American Girl then created Kaya’aton’my who was released in 2002 and was the first Native American Girl doll.

As the Company Grew…

Rebecca doll
Rebecca Rubin’s family came from Russia to New York. Rebecca is 9 years old in 1914.

They started adding more dolls like Cecile Rey who was the second African American Girl Doll to be released in 2011 but was retired soon after with her white friend Marie Grace Gardner. American Girl then released Ivy Ling in 2014. She was the first Asian American Girl doll to be released.  Melody Ellison is another African American Girl doll and was released in 2016. Nanea Mitchell came out in 2017 and was the second Native Hawaiian American Girl doll. Out of all the dolls I listed these are only some of the dolls of different races and religions available from American Girl, just showing you how diverse this company is!

Rebecca and me

Rebecca was released in 2009 and was the first Jewish historical American Girl doll. (The first Jewish doll was Lindsey Bergman, 2001 Girl of the Year.)

When I started working at Girl AGain, I soon learned about all the dolls. The one that got my attention was Rebecca. I was informed that Rebecca was raised in a Jewish family, just like me! It meant something to me because, in movies, songs, or books, there is hardly any talk about Jewish holidays.

Although Rebecca never talks about this holiday, one Jewish holiday I like was celebrated on February 25.  The holiday is called Purim. Purim is a story about a Persian queen named Esther and a king named Achashverosh who stopped an evil man named Haman who wanted to get rid of all the Jews in Persia. On Purim, we celebrate the saving of the Jews by dressing up in costumes because Esther, who was Jewish, had to pretend she was someone else in order to keep herself safe.

It is nice to have an American Girl doll and story that connects with the same religion as me and other Jewish girls.

American Girl has been able to create all these amazing dolls that show and celebrate diversity and our differences.

Girl AGain has many of these dolls that you can purchase.  We also have books that tell the stories of these American girls.  Come visit us.

By Sarah Feingold, Yes She Can trainee

Sarah and coach

Filed Under: Doll stories, Girl of the Year, Historic collection Tagged With: #Addy, #americangirl, #diversity, #historicaldolls, #JewishGirls, #kaya, #pleasantcompany, #rebecca

Comments

  1. Lesli Cattan says

    February 25, 2021 at 1:42 am

    Sarah- I love your blog post. It helps others to learn about the diversity amongst the American Girl doll characters. Nice job. Lesli

  2. Wendy says

    February 25, 2021 at 11:52 am

    Yes She Can!!!! Bravo American Girl Dolls. Thanks to Pleasant Rowland for introducing these dolls originally. Sarah Feingold, you teach us something every day!!

  3. Nancy Miller-Glener says

    February 25, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    Thanks Sarah for this very informative and interesting blog!

  4. Maribeth Arena says

    February 25, 2021 at 9:43 pm

    Sarah, thank you for sharing the back story on how diversity evolved with The American Girl dolls, a history I did not know of before. I especially appreciated your sharing your personal connection with “Rebecca” – it made the blog even more engaging for me!

  5. Steve Feingold says

    February 26, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    Sarah
    Wonderful post! Happy Purim!

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4 Martine Avenue, Store 2B
White Plains, NY 10606
(914) 358-1460

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American Girl Store Girl AGain opened in February 2014 to rave reviews from American Girl doll fans, their moms and especially their grandmas. You’ll find authentic gently used AG dolls, clothing, furniture, accessories and books that have been cleaned and prepared for sale at good prices in an easy-access store.

We also host in-store events such as American Girl book author readings, tea parties, and craft activities. Our most popular event is Girl AGain Doll Hair Do’s & Don’ts Workshop. Check here often to see what is scheduled.

You’ll find a selection of dolls: the original dolls from the historical periods as well as My American Girl, Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins. We have new and used outfits for all AG dolls, as well as their furniture and accessories. Our merchandise changes daily.

You’ll also find a great selection of new and used American Girl books. You don’t have to be a doll lover to enjoy the advice books like The Care and Keeping of You, and A Smart Girl’s Guide to Money.

Girl AGain is not affiliated with American Girl(r) company.

Yes She Can!

Did you know that 80% of adults with autism are unemployed? We created our boutique specifically to help develop transferable job skills for young women with autism. Our trainees at Girl AGain sort, clean and prepare the merchandise, price it, and display it in our shop. Our trainees learn about marketing, merchandising, retailing, customer service, and inventory acquisition in addition to appropriate workplace behavior, research, collaboration and decision-making. We have staff who manage our accounting (Quick Books) and our website (WordPress).

Our customers learn about the abilities of people with autism. And hopefully, our youngest shoppers learn about acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities.

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