Addy Author Connie Porter Speaks Out About Modern Doll Box Art

The recent release of the Modern Era Historical collection has brought some controversy in the American Girl fandom, most notably due to the box art on the modern Addy doll, which depicts a tobacco field. This is clearly wrong, and this is unacceptable.

In the comments section of a fan's post, Connie Porter, who wrote Addy's books, shared her thoughts on the matter, and spoke out against why this is wrong.

"You better preach, girl! I had the same reaction when I saw the tobacco field as a background. Who did American Girl run this by? I had thought American Girl/Mattel would have had someone sitting at the table who picked up on what it meant to have the modern character still in the tobacco field. When it came to the development of Addy, Pleasant Company made sure that there was meaningful representation of her stories, the doll and the products. It did so by hiring an advisory board of African American professionals and literally had them at the boardroom table. No matter what some may say, not only does representation matter, but representation that is informed, intentional and has the power to shape policy and product matters even more."

I couldn't have said it any better, Connie. Do better, American Girl.