National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture

Dolls. They are a child’s first introduction to self-image; their stories are key elements in our personal heritage. Across all cultural backgrounds, everyone has a story that dolls can tell. The history of Black dolls is about more than just objects of play.

Black dolls have played a critical role in building a diverse American society and rich African American culture. They help tell the stories of African- American history , of enslaved Africans captured and relocated to a strange land and yet bravely asserting their own cultures—and of everyone who came after.

NBDMHC uses our doll collection (7000 dolls and counting!) along with engaging images and artifacts to illustrate and tell those individual stories and the story of a people.