Barbie has been working overtime to inspire kids to make the world a better place, from the Barbie 2020 Campaign Team and #ThankYouHeroes career dolls to Barbie’s Shero program featuring modern-day role models and the Inspiring Women series of historical dolls.
Now, Mattel‘s iconic doll brand is using its platform to speak up about racism. In a recent YouTube video, an animated version of Barbie invites her friend Nikki over to break down racism and explain it in a way for young kids to understand.
Nikki uses easy-to-follow anecdotes, such as going to the beach with Barbie, that explain ways in which she has experienced discrimination first-hand based on the color of her skin. She also explains how that discrimination makes her feel and how other people tend to brush it off or make excuses for it when there is never an excuse for racism. Like Barbie says in the video, “When we don’t say anything, we’re just letting it continue.” The video also demonstrates the basic definition of white privilege, a concept that many adults don’t understand themselves.
The video teaches a lot in under 3 minutes and is definitely worth a watch. Parents can use it to start a dialogue with their kids about racism and equal rights for all. And we’ll end with an important message that Nikki makes in the video: “If we all work together, we can make a big difference.”
Watch for yourself below.
