Nega Fulô: the black doll created by activist to empower girls

The idea was born in 1998 from a very big impact, caused by a gift Andrea received from a boyfriend at the time: a black doll. She says that the doll had a big mouth, a head full of pigtails and very lively black eyes like hers and stood out on the white background looking like jaboticabas, she was impressed.

At the time, Andrea was around 20 years old and this episode made her go back to her distant childhood and question why she had never owned a black doll as a child. 

And as an adult, when she got one as a gift, she thought, “I have to do something with this. If it has impacted me in this way, brought me so many questions, I have to share it”. 

And Andrea asked herself: “why were there no black dolls in the stores? Why didn’t black dolls appear in commercials at Christmas time, Children’s Day so that people would have the option to buy one to give to someone?”

Lack of representation in childhood

She says that during her childhood, she had several dolls, all white and with all of them she played mommy and baby, it was as if they were her daughters and none had her characteristics, but even so they were not less loved. 

But they were imposed by the media and the market and on the other hand, she did not miss a black doll because it is impossible to miss what you have never seen and her parents did not have the idea, the sensitivity to realize that those products did not have their characteristics.

She says that during her childhood, she had several dolls, all white and with all of them she played mommy and baby, it was as if they were her daughters and none had her characteristics, but even so they were not less loved. But they were imposed by the media and the market and on the other hand, she did not miss a black doll because it is impossible to miss what you have never seen and her parents did not have the idea, the sensitivity to realize that those products did not have her features.

“We can’t change the past, but we can change the future and it was in my hands to do so,” says Andrea. So alongside her work, Andrea started looking for people who could make dolls for her, because she herself had no idea how to make one. She wanted to spread black dolls around the world, she wanted children to be born with one and that the decorations on the doors of maternity wards were black dolls.

She managed to do it and it was wonderful, she says.  The reaction of people and doctors was one of amazement and delight, but Andrea thinks it was meant to be ordinary. That reaction brought her many worries and still does.

Difficulties to produce a black doll

At the time there were no people or industries producing black dolls and people were surprised when she asked and looked for them at craft fairs or events.

After a while things started to happen, Andrea began to participate in craft fairs in squares, clubs, universities with her dolls; and then came Law 10639, which dealt with the teaching of African history in schools, which was later replaced by Law 11645.

 In the meantime, several schools began to seek her out with the intention of acquiring black dolls to be part of the toy libraries and also to work on Law 10639, because teachers still had no references to pass on to students and it was then that Nega Fulô began to walk through education.

Andrea talks about Nega Fulô doll

“Nega Fulô is an action of representativeness, of identity, and I know that I impacted many black women, who today also produce black dolls and I think we have to populate the world, because black and non-black people need to know the story. It’s for racial equality, it’s for our deserving place, it’s for a higher self-esteem of our black children. That’s why I will never stop making black dolls.

Fiona Roy, a Scottish resident of Coimbra, Portugal, talks about the reaction of her 6-year-old daughter Kira Sofia Gomes when she received a Nega Fulô from her godmother.

“My daughter was delighted when she received the doll as a gift. She especially loved the color of her skin, the hair like hers and the big smile. She is at a point in her life where she already understands color and race. It is extremely important that she has toys that look like her and our friends. She has been completely bonded with the doll, day and night, since she got it!”.

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