Little Black Sambo to Beyoncé: Midtown museum’s black paper dolls exhibit

Courtesy National Museum of Toys and Miniatures.

Courtesy National Museum of Toys and Miniatures.

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures says its new exhibit of black paper dolls provide a glimpse into the history of racial perception.

Stereotypes to Civil Rights features the private collection of Arabella Grayson, whose Stereotypes to Civil Rights: Black Paper Dolls in America documents the 150-year evolution of cultural images of African Americans. It includes such well-known images as Little Black Sambo, Aunt Jemima, Jackie Robinson and Beyoncé Knowles.

Aunt Jemima paper doll. Courtesy National Museum of Toys and Miniatures.

Aunt Jemima paper doll. Courtesy National Museum of Toys and Miniatures.Little Black Sambo, Aunt Jemima, Jackie Robinson and Beyoncé Knowles.Little Black Sambo, Aunt Jemima, Jackie Robinson and Beyoncé Knowles.

According to a media release:

 The exhibit includes the first commercially produced black paper doll: 1863’s Topsey from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The first black paper dolls were steeped in stereotypes of African Americans: savages, minstrels, mammies, and one of the most recognizable African Americans in advertising, Aunt Jemima.

With the civil rights and black pride movements, companies began producing more realistic paper dolls and, eventually, present day sports and entertainment figures: Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Michael Jackson, and a black Miss America. Visitors may even recognize a hometown hero displayed next to the President of the United States in paper form: the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson.

Details

  • On view from February 20 through August 21
  • Museum website
  • The museum is also hosting several related lectures and workshops
    • The Two Hundred Year History of Black Paper Dolls. April 7, 6-7 p.m. From the late 18th century to the present, social changes have been reflected in paper dolls. Collector and author Arabella Grayson will examine these changes through a chronological history of the origins of paper dolls and the introduction of black paper dolls in popular media. $10 for general admission. Free for museum members, and UMKC faculty, staff, and students. RSVP (816) 235-8005 or mercierk@toyandminiaturemuseum.org.
    • How Do We Know Who We Are? April 8, 2-3 p.m. Collector and author Arabella Grayson will highlight the ways in which the media influences self-image and self-esteem through play. Using current affairs, personal anecdotes, and insights from her rare collection of black paper dolls, Grayson reveals how individuals are always responding to media images by embracing or rejecting them. Included with museum admission. RSVP (816) 235-8005 or mercierk@toyandminiaturemuseum.org.
    • Cutting Through Stereotypes. April 9, 1-4 p.m. Using a tour of Stereotypes to Civil Rights as inspiration, visitors will create paper figures based on historic or current events, or famous personalities. Included with museum admission. Recommended for ages seven and up.

 

Leave a Comment