Maya Angelou Is the Latest Addition to Barbie's 'Inspiring Women' Line

Since its inception in 2018, Mattel’s “Inspiring Women” line of Barbies has featured Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, and seven other female role models from the past and present. The latest is celebrated poet and writer Maya Angelou.

As The Guardian reports, Angelou made history as both the first female and first Black inaugural poet; she recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993. When 22-year-old Amanda Gorman made history as the youngest inaugural poet at Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony this week, she paid homage to Angelou by wearing a ring shaped like a caged bird. (The ring was given to Gorman by Oprah Winfrey, who had gifted Angelou a Chanel coat and gloves to don for Clinton’s inauguration.)

Angelou’s Barbie likeness sports some jewelry of her own, including a golden ring, watch, bracelet, and earrings. She’s wearing a floral-patterned dress and matching head wrap, and holding a mini version of Angelou’s 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings—a National Book Award-nominated account of her childhood and the first of seven acclaimed memoirs.

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The $30 item is already sold out online, but you can sign up to be notified by email as soon as it’s back in stock. According to a statement via TODAY, Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson, hopes the doll “will inspire new generations of teachers, writers and activists.”

“My mother, Dr. Maya Angelou, was a pioneer and an activist with an invincible spirit for justice,” he went on to say. “Through her words and actions, she developed a unique ability to create deep connections with people around the world. She used to say, ‘I write from the Black perspective, but I aim for the human heart.’”

[h/t The Guardian]