After seeing Anderson Cooper’s recreation of the famous black/white doll experiment from decades ago, Dr. Lisa decided to start a multicultural doll collection. She was in tears to see that even decades later our girls still thought the white dolls looked better than the one that resembled them. “I did not want to see another little African American girl fail to choose the doll that most closely resembles her precious face because that child does not view the doll as being equal or more beautiful than the white doll”, says the founder and CEO of World EPI Inc. in San Diego, California.
Dr. Lisa Williams is a graduate of Ohio State with a doctorate in business. Dr. Lisa wrote a book, Leading Beyond Excellence which got great reviews. Wal-mart approached her about having the book in their store. She was later asked to write a children’s series and she accepted. In November 2008, Dr. Lisa was approached by Wal-mart to create a line of dolls. Positively Perfect dolls were created and are sold exclusively at Wal-mart. There are over 20 dolls in the collection. Each doll has a unique look and back story. For instance, Divah Zair is a straight-A student and artist, while Darling Dana wants to be a scientist.
Williams has grown her company, World of EPI into a million-dollar enterprise. The company received the highly coveted designation as Walmart’s 2013 Minority Supplier of the Year.
References:
https://www.blackenterprise.com/learn-how-this-former-college-professor-got-her-black-doll-collection-in-walmart/
https://madamenoire.com/248135/using-childs-play-to-tackle-a-serious-issue-dr-lisa-williams-creates-positively-perfect-doll-line/
https://www.blackenterprise.com/positively-perfect-black-dolls-self-esteem-black-children/