Did Barack Obama Help Break Another Racial Barrier?

By Natalie Melendez

JUST AHEAD OF THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON, MATTEL HAS LAUNCHED ITS NEWEST LINE OF SO IN STYLE BARBIES, also known as the 'Black Barbie.'

I'm not talking about the the Black Barbie I grew up with that was the standard Nordic-featured Barbie dyed brown.

So In Style Barbie has darker skin, and fuller nose and lips, according to Stacey McBride, the doll's designer. In other words, this stylin' sister actually looks African Americans.

"They look like people where we live," said Nikki Wright, 12, of East Harlem.

That's the point, according to the doll's designer. "I want them to see themselves within these dolls, and let them know that black is beautiful," McBride told the Associated Press.

The So In Style line features Barbie and friends Grace, Trichelle and Kara (who rocks a silver bling-bling chain as part of her attire).

In order to promote a mentoring theme, each doll is accompanied by a little sister doll who shares her interests, hence the clever acronym for the line, "S.I.S."

While the new dolls don't please all of the people, the most appropriate response to Mattel's new line is -- it's about fucking time!

It's taken Mattel 50 years after the birth of Barbie to launch its first line of Black dolls, excluding Christie, the white-washed African American counterpart to Barbie or Mattel's ill-fated collaboration with Nabisco, the Oreo Fun Barbie. (Pulled from shelves for obvious reasons.)