What about Patty-Jo?

Cartoonist Jackie Ormes holding the Benjie and Patty-Jo dolls inspired by her characters

I’m a big believer in appreciating someone’s hard work, even if it misses the mark. Especially if it’s a project that took them over a decade to put together. But regarding a certain documentary— I will not name—I have to say a few things.

First, I’m not a doll person.

The closest I got to pure doll love was the adorable (and beloved) black Raggedy Ann doll my mother had specifically commissioned for me (since there were none on the market at the time…yes it was that far back, but thankfully Beloved Belindy—the soft and cuddly mammy doll with ‘saucy black-button eyes’ (that’s a direct quote from an advert)—not only had been wisely retired by then but, let’s be honest, wasn’t even an option if it had been available.)

I share the above statement as a caveat.  I know I’m not the target audience for a documentary chronicling the creation of an African American version of an iconic doll.

But I’ve always liked stories about toy design and had friends who worshiped the creation of this doll, so I set time aside to watch it.

However, I was surprised (and disappointed) when this documentary (that showcased a lot of ‘firsts’ and kept lauding a particular toy company) skipped over a key moment in history–and a key woman.

From 1947-1949 there was another fashionable black doll that kids could enjoy. Her name was Patty-Jo and she was created by Jackie Ormes, the first syndicated black female cartoonist.

In her biography, Jackie Ormes: The First African-American Woman Cartoonist, Nancy Goldstein, wrote that Jackie Ormes:

“…transformed her attractive, spunky Patty-Jo cartoon character into the first, upscale, American Black doll.  At long last, here was an African-American doll with all the play features children desired: playable hair, and the finest and most extensive wardrobe on the market, with all manner of dresses, formals, shoes, hats, nightgowns, robes, skating and cowgirl costumes, and spring and winter coat sets, to name a few.”

Before Patty-Jo, there was another African American doll created by the Terri Lee Doll Company called Bonnie Lou. However, she was a baby doll, whereas Patty-Jo wasn’t.

Not only was Patty-Jo a trailblazer by being the first upscale black doll in the US, she was also the first African American doll based on a comic strip character. If that doesn’t impress you enough, Ms. Ormes also hand painted the features of the original Patty-Jo dolls.

So for a documentary that wanted to highlight firsts, the story of a true original (the Patty-Jo doll) from the mind of a true pioneer (Jackie Ormes) should have been included but was sadly overlooked.

(Image credits: Jackie Ormes holding dolls/ blacklistedculture.com, patty-jo doll/cuseum.com)