'It means a lot to them,' said Smith, a junior at Mary Baldwin College. 'Having an African-American doll, it's like having a part of them.'
The project, which is in its 13th year, has collected more than 300 dolls, including Barbies, Kenya dolls and professional dolls. The Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott has some caveats, though, about the types of dolls they accept.
Tattoos, piercings, a ton of makeup drawn on and skimpy clothes are some of the automatic disqualifiers for the dolls. They are supposed to model average black girls and women, Cornett-Scott said. Another big requirement, and a harder one to meet, is finding dolls that have authentic black features.
She held up three examples. The first, a doll with dark brown skin and a short bob, the next with braided hair and glasses, and the last with curls and full lips."
