This is a word a podcast from Slate. I'm your host Jason Johnson. One of the most enduring

icons of so-called all-American beauty is the Barbie doll. Blonde, blue eyed, and possibly

thin, and of course, white. Now a new documentary highlights the creation of Black Barbie's

and how they helped to change how Black girls looked at themselves.

Black Barbie is about representation and that kind of like self-determination and intergenerational

conversations.

Black Barbie, a documentary coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

Welcome to a word a podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your host,

Jason Johnson. Barbie isn't real, but she's one of the most famous women in the country,

if not the world. And when they star-studded film coming out this summer, she's back at

the center of the cultural conversation.

Hey, Barbie. Can I come to your house today?

Sure. I don't have anything big planned just a giant blow-out party with all the Barbies

and plan choreography and a bespoke song. You should stop by.

So cool. Barbie's one of the very first brands many American girls are immersed in.

For decades, millions of kids have been collecting the dolls and everything that comes with her,

the clothes, the dream house and the pink convertible. And like so many white celebrities,

she had a handful of black friends, but they were in the background of her life.

Now the creation of the Black Barbie and what it meant for the culture is the topic of a new

documentary.

LaGiria Davis is a writer and a producer and the creator of the new film Black Barbie, a documentary.

She joins us now.

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