A New Era: Celebrating Black Dolls Presented by New York State Senator April N.M. Baskin

Special Film Presentation – Sat., Feb. 22 featuring Black Barbie: A Documentary and virtual discussion with the writer/director at the Central Library in Buffal0

 

 

New York State Senator April N.M. Baskin announced today that the sixth annual Black Doll Exhibit, A New Era: Celebrating Black Dolls and The New Era of Beauty will be presented in four Buffalo & Erie County Public Libraries now through April 1, 2025.  For the past five years, during Black History Month, local doll collector Lisa Jacobs-Watson has curated library displays using her doll collection to examine the importance of representation and how dolls can be critical to one’s development of identity and imagination. Themes of perseverance, empowerment, pride, and creativity for women and girls of all ages and colors has been the center point of each display.

 

“I am so proud to sponsor this Black Doll Exhibit, dating back to 2020,” said New York State Senator April N.M. Baskin (SD-63). “The way we perceive ourselves is crucial to strong physical and emotional health. With this remarkable exhibit, children can identify with dolls that look like them and be inspired and empowered in their own skin. Such representation can only serve young girls and boys to achieve their true potential through play, education, and cultural conversations.”

 

I am once again honored to be the curator of this year’s exhibit while sharing part of my collection. We are pleased at the increasing number of onlookers who show appreciation for black and brown dolls year after year. These dolls represent beauty, potential, and the vast amount of creativity that goes into producing them. I am motivated to keep using dolls to influence youngsters toward seeing themselves in a positive light during their playtime,” said collector
Lisa Jacobs-Watson.     

 

A special public showing of Black Barbie: A Documentary film from Netflix will be shown in the downtown Central Library Auditorium on Saturday, February 22 at 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., followed by a virtual Q&A with the writer/director Lagueria Davis. Black Barbie is the untold story of the first Barbie doll created as a Black woman and the pivotal role that three trailblazing women had in working with the Mattel Company in 1980 to produce a doll that looked like them. The program will be moderated by news anchor Pheben Kassahun. It is free and open to the public.

Library doll display locations are listed on the next page.

 

Doll displays can be viewed now – April 1, 2025 at: 

 

Downtown – Central Library

1 Lafayette Sq., Buffalo

Enter at Washington Street

716-858-8900

 

Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch

1324 Jefferson Ave., Buffalo

716-883-4418

 

Leroy R. Coles, Jr. Branch

1187 E. Delavan Ave., Buffalo

716-896-4433

 

Isaías González-Soto Branch

280 Porter Ave., Buffalo

716-882-1537

 

 

For more details, call the Library System at 716-858-8900 or visit www.BuffaloLib.org.   Interviews and photos are available by request. Media is welcome to attend the film showing and program on Saturday, February 22 at 11:00 a.m. at the Central Library’s Auditorium.

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Legal commentator Elie Honig said during a podcast Sunday that the indictment of former FBI director James Comey might be "abuse of executive power."

Speaking to journalist John Avalon on The Bulwark's podcast, Honig, who is the author of the book When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump, said, "I mean, God, Trump basically, by mistake, published a DM demand to his AG that in any other environment would be seen as a smoking gun for abuse of executive power. And now it just seems like something happened two Fridays ago. And who can remember or care?"

He continued: "I do think more people will get indicted on the hit list. He gave us a hit list. I know there's speculation if it's a DM that he inadvertently posted. It has hallmarks of both."

Avalon said the indictment "seems like a new low in the politicization of justice and the persecution of [President] Donald Trump's enemies."

According to Honig, there is "the complete evisceration of this wall that has long existed between the White House and the political operation of the executive branch and the Justice Department's prosecutorial function."

"When the president gets involved in dictating who gets charged and who doesn't, prosecutorial decisions, then we have crossed the line. And that's something that both parties for decades. Presidents don't always love it. Presidents would like to have more control over prosecutors. But even going back to Nixon, they've always understood that there has to be some independent prosecutorial function. But that's changing now very quickly," he added.

Honig further noted that there is no law per se "saying DOJ must be separate and independent from the White House, from the president."

He added: "I mean, if you went to court and said, I want to sue because I think DOJ is no longer independent, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. This is more along the lines of a long established law foundational norm and tradition that both parties have long observed and respected."

Referencing his book, Honig noted how Trump 2.0 appears different from other presidencies.

"And part of the book is about ways that that has been chipped away over the years. But whether it's Nixon or Clinton, and they're not all equal, but Nixon or Clinton or Trump 1 or Biden, they've all chipped away at that wall in various ways."

"But now here comes Trump 2.0 and it's over. He just dynamites it. This is one of those things that's like not really enforceable. I mean, yes, Jim Comey can go into court and argue that he's being selectively prosecuted. And I think he's going to win on that. Given the things Trump has said and posted on social media publicly, he makes the case for him, but it's not like 'my fourth amendment constitutional right is being violated. My first amendment constitutional right is being violated.' It's just really like good government that we've long recognized that is now totally scrapped."

Avalon noted that "there is an unwritten part of the constitution, which is rooted in concepts of honor, decency, and common sense, as the founders intended and as everyone has recognized."

"And the rest of the quote, 'Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was burnt in one.' And Trump is burning something. I mean, FBI shows outside John Bolton's house. You've got [New York Attorney Genera] Letitia James next on the list."

Commenting on James' case, Honig said, "I've looked at the allegations against Letitia James. You know, I've been a critic, a sharp critic of Letitia James. But this mortgage fraud case is bogus. It's bonkers."