Makena Williams is one of three American Girl dolls in the new AG doll line World By Us. This post is all about Makena!
According to the World By Us press release, Makena loves art and her close-knit family, with ties tracing back to Kenya, but her real passion is fashion, which she uses to express her views. After experiencing a racist incident in her own front yard, Makena uses her style to speak up about injustice.
The Makena doll has a new face mold, dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes.
An expert that especially helped with Makena's story is Dr. Deborah Rivas-Drake. She is a professor of psychology and education at the University of Michigan, who studies how teens navigate issues of race, ethnicity, racism, and xenophobia.
Makena's accessory set comes with a jacket, a notebook, and a purse. It costs $35.
Now, let's talk about Makena's story! I've copied and pasted from the description too many times, but the story is about Makena's first days back at school after the pandemic and how she deals with the racism she faces, both hurtful assumptions about being Black and a racist incident she deals with in her front yard.
Makena's name is pronounced ma-KAY-na. She loves art, cooking, riding her book, but especially fashion. Her favorite colors are purple and glitter.
She goes to Aspire Academy Middle School in Washington D.C and her birthday is on August 25, 2008.
Her mom is named Chandra, her dad is named Tony, and she has an 11-year-old sister named Amari.
Makena is Kenyan and has two friends at school, Adeline and Najee.
The Makena: See Me, Hear Me, Know Me book begins with Makena school shopping for seventh grade with her Aunt Belinda, also known as Auntie Bling.
Do you like Makena? I think her story seems super cool and important. It might take a while for me to get used to her face mold, but I like the face mold. It's just the fact that it's a new face.