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RISD and Brown students Yelitsa Jean-Charles, Anisa Holmes, Nitashia Johnson and Ingrid Nelson recognized the lack of diversity in children’s toys. That’s why they created a toy company called Healthy Roots: a product that not only brings diversity to the toy aisle but challenges beauty standards. What started as an art project at the Rhode School of Design has grown into a business with a social impact. Healthy Roots dolls and storybooks combat internalized racism and colorism by getting to the roots of the problem: diversity and education. The dolls come in different skin tones, facial features and hair textures to represent the diversity of the African Diaspora. Young girls can style the dolls hair just like theirs with the help of an instructional storybook.

There are currently four dolls: African American, Haitian, Nigerian and a bi-racial doll Pacific Islander/Afro-Brazilian. The doll line will grow to include girls of color from all around the world.

The founder, Jean-Charles, created these dolls because of her experiences with colorism and racism. “I have seen many women in my family bleach their skin and burn their scalps in the name of beauty,” she said. “They did this because they did not believe their natural features were beautiful. Our goal with Healthy Roots is to ensure that no one feels less than because of the kink of their curl or the color of their skin”.

Now as MassChallenge finalists, they will compete for funding that will help make Healthy Roots dolls a reality.

“The 200+ startups that will be entering our 2015 accelerator include many of the highest-impact startups in the world,” said MassChallenge CEO John Harthorne. “From Boston to London to Israel and beyond, the global distribution of these early-stage companies highlights the universal need and opportunity to provide startups with access to the people and resources that will help them launch and succeed.”

Before becoming an esteemed startup, Healthy Roots started as an art project by Jean-Charles. “My assignment was to redesign a classic fairytale figure, Rapunzel,” she said. “So I did. I made her Black.” It was while working on this project that she recognized how idealized so many storybook characters are. “It is so often a fair, blonde white women who is being rescued,” she said. “I wanted to challenge both the ‘classic’ beauty standard and the negative perception of black women and natural hair. Black women are beautiful in every shade and we can grow beautiful and healthy natural hair.”

What started as an art project has now evolved into a company that promotes culture, identity and love. And the community has taken notice. Aside from being MassChallenge finalists, Healthy Roots has also been accepted into the Social Innovation Fellowship at Brown University, The RISD Entrepreneurship program at the Rhode Island School of Design.

The Healthy Roots movement will begin on August 15th, when they will launch their doll line and storybooks on kickstarter. Until then, you can like them on facebook, at facebook.com/healthyrootsdolls.

About Healthy Roots:

Healthy Roots is a toy company that designs dolls and storybooks that combat internalized racism and colorism.

Media Contact:

Yelitsa Jean-Charles

healthyrootsdolls@gmail.com

yjeanch@risd.edu