Black Dolls Matter® founder/CEO Mark Ruffin.

Black Dolls Matter® founder Mark Ruffin has made a significant impact in the toy and entertainment industries, breaking barriers and challenging the status quo. He started his career as the first African American puppet builder at the Jim Henson Muppet Workshop, where he made a name for himself with his creative contributions to CTW Sesame Street. He went on to win a Daytime Emmy® for his work on the iconic children’s show and became the first African American designer at the Alexander Doll Company. Ruffin’s talents are evident in his iconic creations, including Zoe’s doll Mimi, Princess Diana Birthday Commemorative Doll, and his original dolls for popular shows such as “National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha,” “Apple TV+ Servant,” “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings”, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,“ and “The Best Man: Final Chapters on NBC Peacock.”

Mark Ruffin has always been passionate about creating a world where black children can see themselves reflected in the toys they play with. Despite his supervisors’ beliefs that black dolls don’t sell, Ruffin saw a unique opportunity to serve the underserved market and began attending black doll shows. His then social media campaign, Black Dolls Matter, encourages self-esteem, self-love, and positive self-image in all black and brown children of all ages. The campaign’s reach has expanded through doll-sized Black Dolls Matter® tee shirts, inspiring a call and response of images and social media posts from around the globe with the hashtag #blackdollsmatter.

Madame Alexander Doll Company Princess Diana Birthday Commemorative Doll

Mark Ruffin’s mission to improve doll testing results and provide exceptional culturally appropriate black and multi-ethnic dolls is now becoming a reality through the success of Black Dolls Matter®.

Black Dolls Matter® First Annual Gift-A-Doll at Gaudenzia Inc.