CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Ida B. Wells, civil rights pioneer and journalist known for launching an anti-lynching campaign, will be honored with a new signature Barbie doll, toymaker Mattel announced on Wednesday.
Wells was the daughter of two formerly enslaved people who became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was born in 1862 in Mississippi and died in 1931 in Chicago.
The doll is part of the Inspiring Women series, which Mattel said honors historical and present-day role models for girls.
Wells’ doll is dressed in a long, dark lace dress and holds a miniature replica of the “Memphis Free Speech” newspaper. She became editor and co-owner of the newspaper in 1889, according to the Ida B. Wells Society.
The doll will be available on Jan. 17, ahead of Black History Month, marked in the U.S. in February.
In July 2021, a statue honoring Wells’ life and legacy was unveiled in downtown Memphis.