Civil Rights Icon Ida B. Wells Is Commemorated With A Barbie Doll

Famed Black journalist and activist Ida B. Wells is the latest female historical icon to be immortalized as a Barbie doll.

Mattel’s Barbie brand announced that Wells was the latest addition to its Inspiring Women series, which spotlights role models who paved the way for generations of girls.

“When kids learn about heroes like Ida B. Wells, they don’t just imagine a better future ― they know they have the power to make it come true,” the company said.

Wells, born into slavery during the Civil War, fought racism, sexism and violence in her work as a prominent journalist who exposed injustices against Black people in the South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She led an anti-lynching movement, traveled nationwide and abroad to expose the practice at great personal risk, and went on to participate in the founding of the NAACP.

Other Barbies in the collection have included Maya Angelou, Florence Nightingale, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Billie Jean King and Ella Fitzgerald.