Berry & Ross Doll Company

Berry & Ross was a black owned doll company founded by Harlem residents, Evelyn Berry and Victoria Ross. Based in Harlem, New York, located at Factory 36 - 38 West 135th Street. The company was founded in 1918 until around 1929. These two women were the first African Americans to engage in the large scale manufacturer of black composition dolls. The dolls appealed to both black and white children. And were sold in large department stores, mainly in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and a few other cities. 'Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture'

History of Black Dolls
Dr. Sabrina Thomas' book, History of Black Dolls as a Sociology of Black Children, explores the history of dolls and their far-reaching sociological impact. It examines Black doll production, location and how the dolls were advertised. Thomas explains how dolls were used as racial uplift even though the first mass-produced Black dolls fall into the servant category and were meant for White children.

W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP were among the early catalysts for Black children having Black dolls, according to Thomas. The National Negro Doll Company produced these first dolls in the early 1900s and Dubois advertised them in The Crisis. The Berry and Ross Doll Company created the Sara Lee doll in the 1940s, and Eleanor Roosevelt publicized them.

Thomas began her early research at the Margaret Woodbury Strong Doll Museum in Rochester, N.Y., listening to oral histories of White women who enjoyed playing with their dolls. Some women said their parents gave them Black dolls presumably in an attempt to broaden their racial views. Others never had a Black doll and some women presumed it was because "they didn't want such ugly things."

Thomas is now interviewing Black women about the dolls of their childhood. "People say Black dolls didn't exist back then but in fact accessibility was the issue," she said. Companies and stores didn't think there was a profitable market for Black dolls, she explains. "I don't think there is true diversity, when Black dolls are just dipped in different skin colors. The uniqueness of race isn't even acknowledged," she said. "Through our history we've used dolls to transport and mutilate racial sentiments. It's been just one manifestation of race relations. If we can't address it at this level there's little hope at the adult level."

Thomas also rests some blame on many Black parents who want Black dolls for their children but will settle for the more prevalent White dolls. They don't want to insist that the sales assistant look in the back of the store or contact manufacturers. "There should be more demand on retailers and manufacturers. And retailers should have greater sensitivity," she said.

Over the years, Thomas has amassed more than 300 Black dolls, including a rare 1915 composition baby doll she named Sara. Another favorite is her Topsy Turvy, with a Black maid's face and attire on one side and a White girl in a frilly frock on the other. "I think these dolls are beautiful examples of art," she said. The dolls, after all, are just the messengers.

Sources: Cox, Matthews & Associates, Gale Group (2004), Photo: 'In The Steps of Esteban: Tucson's African American Heritage' Buehman Collection