Dolls Used to Teach Black History Showcased in Global Campus Exhibit

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Historical dolls on loan from the University Museum represent Crispus Attucks, the first person to die in the American Revolution, and Benjamin Banneker, a scientist, scholar, farmer, astronomer and mathematician in the 1700s. (Photo by Melody DeVere)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Handmade dolls created by a teacher in the 1960s to represent black historical figures are the centerpieces of a Black History Month exhibit open through Wednesday, Feb. 29, at the University of Arkansas Global Campus.

The free exhibit “African American History Recreated: Bertabel’s Handmade Dolls” will be open in the second-floor gallery from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 2 E. Center St., on the downtown Fayetteville square. The dolls are on loan from the University of Arkansas Museum. For information, call 479-575-3604.

Complementing the doll exhibit are posters selected from two black history poster sets, “Women of Hope” and “Black Innovators,” on loan from the University of Arkansas Multicultural Center.

Ida Roberta Bell, a fourth-grade teacher in Chicago in the 1960s, began creating dolls as teaching tools to represent important African American leaders and innovators who were seldom mentioned in school history books. Bell created a set of 26 dolls that stand about 18 inches tall and are marked “Bertabel’s Dolls.” The first doll she made represented George Washington Carver, a scientist, and the last depicted Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago.

Bell sculpted, fired and painted the bisque heads and attached them to stuffed sateen bodies. She researched the clothing of the time period in which each person to be represented lived, and then sewed authentic clothing for the dolls, including top hats and pantaloons. Bell became the first African American member of the National Institute of American Doll Artists.

A complete collection was bought in the 1970s by a collector, and it was donated to the University of Arkansas Museum in 1986. According to the Philadelphia Doll Museum website, only 10 museums in the United States hold a complete collection of the 26 dolls.

Before becoming a teacher in Chicago, Bell served as a YWCA executive director in Little Rock and in Omaha, Neb. She died in 1992.

The Global Campus (School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach) partners with other university units, businesses and organizations to offer innovative learning solutions for people seeking to maintain professional certification, boost their skills, or obtain undergraduate or graduate degrees online or off-campus. The school also offers media services, conference services and facilities, and technology and pedagogy support. Visit http://globalcampus.uark.edu to learn more.