Did you know that the first African-American member of the Barbie line was
unveiled at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement? Mattel released the
first brown-skinned addition to its all-American doll series, Barbie, in
1968–one year shy of its ten-year anniversary.

The doll, called Christie, was marketed as one of Barbie’s close friends.
Christie was not simply a brown-painted Barbie mold. She had a brunette bubble
cut (with coarser synthetic hair than that used for Barbie), large,
almond-shaped eyes, a slightly wider upturned nose, and subtly fuller lips.

Prior to Christie’s introduction the availability of mainstream
African-American dolls was quite scarce. Mattel’s decision to unveil Christie,
particularly when racial tensions and political strides to alleviate those
tensions were at their height, was a bold and ultimately successful move.

Versions of the Christie doll remained popular throughout the ’70s, but in
1980, Mattel released its first “Black Barbie”–an actual African American
version of the Barbie character, and with a push to promote that doll,
Christie’s popularity waned. The same year, Mattel also introduced its first
Latina addition to the Barbie line, Teresa.