SMITHSONIAN ANACOSTIA MUSEUM TO EXHIBIT MAJOR BLACK PAPER DOLL COLLECTION OF MILLS COLLEGE ALUMNA 

Oakland, CA - From Aunt Jemima to Billy Holiday to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela, 180 Black paper dolls from the collection of Mills College alumna Arabella Grayson will be on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C. from November 12, 2006–April 30, 2007.  

“Two Hundred Years of Black Paper Dolls” explores the history of Black paper dolls, beginning with a rare 1811 image of a distinguished man, printed in England, who looks Black, yet defies the racial stereotyping associated with the period. Grayson raises the question of whether the swarthy figure with curly locks is a depiction of a mulatto. The first African American paper doll, an image of Topsy was made in 1863 to promote Harriet Beecher Stowe’s renowned book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Historical and biographical sketches culled from newspapers, magazines, and books of the period provide the context for the narrative, revealing how stereotypes of African American people were created and institutionalized through this aspect of popular culture. The exhibit also includes paper dolls from Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Finland. 

Grayson is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer, and a former Mills admission officer (1988-1992) who earned a master's degree in liberal studies from Mills in 1996. She is currently producing a DVD and has written Precious Playthings: An Illustrated History of Black Paper Dolls, The First 200 Years. 

“My collection reflects the omissions and distortions of African Americans throughout America’s history, reinforcing notions of our place within the American class system, and revealing the values and mores of the times,” said Grayson.

Among the paper dolls to be displayed are an 1885 articulated Black baby girl, a 1946 "mammy" doll included as a prize inside a Cracker Jack box, numerous celebrity dolls including Josephine Baker, Billy Holiday, and Dorothy Dandridge, a 1969 "Black is Beautiful” box set of four dolls, and a 1993 book of Martin Luther King Jr. and his family. Contemporary images include famous personalities such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson, former basketball player Dennis Rodman, and San Francisco activist, the Reverend Cecil Williams.

“Before the mid-1950s, images of African Americans in the mainstream press and popular culture were "subservient and menial," Grayson said. Two examples of this portrayal of Black women include "Aunt Dinah, the Colored Cook" appearing in McCall's magazine (April 1911), and "Mammy Cook and her Thanksgiving Dinner,” published in The Delineator (November 1912).

In contrast to these early images of Black women, the exhibit will feature "Torchy Brown," a shapely, sophisticated, no-nonsense cartoon character created in 1937 by Jackie Ormes, the first syndicated Black female illustrator, and “Siberia,” another early fashion paper doll. Featured in the Chicago Tribune in the late 1940s and 1950s, “Siberia” was made by Dale Messick, creator of the popular “Brenda Starr” comic strip.

Since its inception in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum has worked to explore and document the historical experiences and cultural expressions of people of African descent. A national resource for community cultural development, the Museum offers exhibitions, educational programs, workshops, lectures, and films at its site in southeast Washington’s historic Anacostia district, and at other Smithsonian museums on the Washington Mall. The Museum collection of approximately 6,000 objects includes art, archaeological materials, textiles, furniture, photographs, audio and videotapes, and musical instruments.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills currently ranks among the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges.

This year, the Washington Monthly College Rankings (September 2006) named Mills a leading liberal arts college based on community service, research spending, quality of preparation for graduate education, and social mobility. In addition, The Princeton Review’s annual guide, the Best 361 Colleges (2007) included Mills for the second year in a row among top U.S. institutions offering students an outstanding undergraduate education.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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