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OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS/

Interviews/Features/Contributions/Awards

 

 

 

Journaling, letter writing for self and others, and the pure love of the English language have all been communication tools for the author. Her passion for Black dolls and the lack of written information about them influenced written documentation and publications on this subject. Her other published works include:

 

1998-1999, creator of "Spotlight on Black Doll Collectors" column of DOLL-E-GRAM (VELB Associates, Laverne E. Hall, publisher; a former bi-monthly publication). In 1998, the author received a complimentary copy of this publication, noticed its doll artist focus, and wrote the editor to request articles from a collector's perspective, "...especially since Black-doll collectors are the purchasers of Black dolls that doll artists create..." The editor asked the author if she would pen the column.

 

"Shattering the Black-Doll Myth," Doll Castle News September/October 2006 (Barry D. Mueller, publisher). After requests by collectors for information/articles on Black dolls, the then editor, Dorita Mortensen, commissioned the author to write an article on Black dolls. Several additional articles for DCN followed.

 

Connecting People with Art Contemporary African-American Art, by Evelyn Redcross and Mercer Redcross, III, October Gallery, 2006, includes the author's "Patron Profile," pages 130-131. The author was introduced to Mr. Redcross at the 2005 International Black Doll Convention in Philadelphia, PA by Barbara Whiteman, curator of the Philadelphia Doll Museum and sponsor of the Black Doll convention. Redcross asked and the author agreed to include her collector's profile in his publication.

 

"Black Members of the Ideal Crissy Grow Hair Family," Doll Castle News, November/December 2006."

 

Having Fun Collecting Black Ginny," Doll Castle News January/February 2007.

 

"Black Barbie," Doll Castle News, March/April 2007.

 

"Black Madame Alexander Dolls," Doll Castle News, September/October 2007.

 

"Meeting the Man Behind the Dolls," The Official Journal of the United Federation of Doll Clubs DOLL NEWS, Winter 2008. This article resulted after the author met Floyd Bell, a renowned doll artist, at the 2006 UFDC Convention in Dallas, Texas. She felt compelled to document their destined meeting to share with the doll-collecting community at large. After receiving the publication's writer's guidelines, the author submitted the article, which was accepted.

 

"Jackie Ormes' Patty Jo," Doll Castle News, March/April 2008."Not Just Rag Dolls," Doll Castle News, November/December 2008.

 

"Vintage Doll Reproductions," Contemporary Doll Collector, January 2009 (Scott Publications). This article was accepted and published after the author solicited, received, and complied with the publication's submission guidelines.

 

"Brooke Nicole’s Ethnic Transformations," Dolls magazine, February 2009 (Jones Publications).

 

"The Many Faces in My 'Mirror'," Dolls magazine, February 2009 (Jones Publications).

 

Dolls in Black: Chronicles and Perspectives - Blog for DOLLS Magazine commenced in July 2009, and concluded May 2010.

 

"Ideal's Black Crissy Family," Doll Showcase Magazine, Issue 22, December 2009 (a British publication).

 

"Fabulous Entertainers," Dolls Magazine February 2010, pages 38-39 (Jones Publications), co-authored with master doll artist, Floyd Bell.

 

"Sasha Morgenthaler's Dolls for Everyone," Doll Castle News, January-February 2010, pages 28-30.

 

"BLACK PAPER DOLLS Illustrative Perceptions Then and Now Part 1," Doll Castle News, March-April 2010, pages 29-32, and 41.

 

"BLACK PAPER DOLLS Illustrative Perceptions Then and Now Part 2," Doll Castle News, May-June 2010, pages 26-30.

 

"Sew Inspired," (Floyd Bell's hand-carved creations and custom-made fashions) DollReader, April 2011, pages 32-35.

 

"Why We Collect Stuff - The Dolls I Never Had as a Child" a December 29, 2011 NY Times Room for Debate article, updated December 30, 2011

 

Featured in "Solano woman pushes to get ethnic doll in stores," by Amy McGinnis-Honey, published on February 14, 2012, in the Daily Republic, Fairfield, California

 

"Van's Treasures," 2012 Autumn Americana issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly."An Interview with Deja Dohl," Spring 2013 Technology issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly.

 

Featured in "Black is Beautiful: Why Black Dolls Matter" by Lisa Hix, Collectors Weekly, February 21, 2013.

 

Quoted in "Talking Dolls Challenge Racial Stereotypes" By Teo Kermeliotis and Ann Colwell, for CNN, March 12, 2012.

 

Quoted in "You've Come a Long Way Baby: Fashion Black Dolls in Demand Like Never Before" by Shaheera Asante – Founder and Editor, BfabAfrica.com March 28, 2013.

 

Interviewed by Ann Brown for The Network Journal, article, "Beyond Barbie: Tips on Black Doll Collecting," March 28, 2013.

 

Interviewed by Sherry Howard of Myauctionfinds.com, "When Black Dolls Talk, Debbie Garrett Listens," August 21, 2013.

 

Interviewed for and quoted in, "I Want One Just Like Me!" Black Doll Expo by Aisha Phoenix. http://mediadiversityuk.com/2013/10/25/i-want-one-just-like-me-black-dolls-expo/

 

Vintage-to-modern dolls from the collection featured in a slide show of the Detroit News online article "Detroit Doll Show puts spotlight on African American collectors" by Donna Terek, December 8, 2013.

 

Featured member in the Summer 2014 issue of United Federation of Doll Club's Doll News in the "Meet a Member" section of the "Sharing Our Passion" column.

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"The Art of Collecting Black Dolls on Ruby Lane, Part 1." January 14,  2016. https://www.rubylane.com/blog/categories/dolls/the-art-of-collecting-black-dolls-part-one/

 

The Art of Collecting Black Dolls, Part 2." January 22, 2016. https://www.rubylane.com/blog/categories/dolls/the-art-of-collecting-black-dolls-part-two/

 

Interviewed by Stèphanie Benie of Chroniquebeautenoire.com on black dolls for children, March 15, 2016. www.chroniquebeautenoire.com/poupees-noires-avis-dune-collectionneuse/

 

Interviewed by The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, February 2016.  Part of the recorded/videotaped interview is being used to promote their Eye of the Collector exhibition which runs from April 16, 2016, through September 5, 2016.  The exhibition includes 85 post-Civil War through contemporary black dolls from Garrett's private collection.

 

Atelierni Shasha's Featured Collector of the Month, April 2016.

 

More Media Coverage of Eye of  Collector exhibition, which includes some of  Garrett's dolls:

 

Interviewed by William Cummings for the article:  Black Girls Have Been Playing With White Dolls For a Long Time, published online in USA Today, April 8, 2017.

 

Interviewed by Nadja Sayej for the article:  From Controversy to Empowerment:  The History of Black Dolls, published online in The Guardian, April 25, 2017.

 

"BéBé Bain Discovers Other Bathing Babies" published July 2017 in the 2017 UFDC Convention Journal, Une Journée de la Poupée.

 

Invited guest caller on the "Ask the Hair and Scalp Dr." radio show discussing the Evolution of Dolls Part 2, broadcast on DFWiRadio November 8, 2017.

 

2017 email interview by Karen B. Kurtz for her article, “Black Dolls: A Walk Through History,” published by Antique Week in both the Eastern and Central Editions, February 19, 2018; includes Garrett’s interview answers.  

 

"Through the Eyes of Leo Moss, His Story, His Dolls" published here is referenced on page 199 of Theriault's auction catalog "Tears for Mina." 

 

Photograph of Garrett's 1960 Black Chatty Cathy, descriptive text, and courtesy credit was part of the wall display of the Field House Museum's "From Caricature to Celebration, A Brief History of African American Dolls" exhibition, March 2018 - July 15, 2018.

 

June 21, 2018, mentioned in the St. Louis American article, "Black Dolls Help Map Our History."

 

May 29, 2018, telephone interview by Kate Parkinson-Morgan, producer for Gimlet Media's The Nod; a portion of the interview about a mystery doll made in France in the 1970s is included in "The Nod Bureau of Investigation" podcast published on August 27, 2018.

 

 

December 30, 2018, quoted in the article, "Serena Williams Introduces Daughter, Olympia, to Black Dolls".  This article also quotes Garrett’s Wikipedia “Black Dolls” entry from 2008 and uses paraphrased text from Garrett’s Black Doll Collecting blog entry on R. H. Boyd.   

 

January 7, 2019, quoted in the article, "How Zora Neale Hurston Helped Create the First Realistic Black Baby Doll" by Emily Temple for Literary Hub.  

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July 8, 2019, quoted in the Africa News article, "Black Dolls for Black Kids."

 

July 30, 2019, Garrett's Black Doll Collecting blog listed as one of the Ten Must Read Doll Blogs by Babi a Fi of the United Kingdom.

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Interviewed for and shared doll photos for KCET.org Lost LA series 4, episode 6, "Shindana Toys: Changing the American Doll Industry," which aired on November 19, 2019, on the Southern California PBS channel KCET. The photos are now part of USC Libraries archives.

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November 19, 2019, quoted in "Operation Bootstrap:  Empowering the Community Through Entrepreneurship," by Nadra Nettles.  This article promotes the KCET.org Lost LA documentary, "Shindana Toys:  Changing the American Toy Industry."

 

November 20, 2019, a photo of a pair of  Garrett's dolls that represent Black dolls with white features is included in another article written to promote the Lost LA Shindana Toys documentary.  "Shindana Toys:  Dolls That Made a Difference," was written by Yolanda Hester.

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UFDC Black Artist Dolls Video Presentation by Deborah Butler-Johnson at the 2019 UFDC Convention features several dolls from Garrett's collection.  Facebook users may view the video here.

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April 2020, received a nod from Niya Dorsey in the article, "A Mom Created These Talking Black Dolls To Teach Our Kids Self-Love."

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May 17, 2020, invited to attend Motor City Doll Club's virtual meeting via Zoom to share her three Madame Alexander Cynthia dolls with club members.

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May 24, 2020, invited to attend Black Gold Doll Clubs's virtual meeting via Zoom, gave a brief "Guess the black-doll artist" presentation, and shared her favorite doll, Smiling Debbie dressed in a tribute dress to her mother.

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A photo contribution in the Summer 2020 issue of New Moon Girls magazine appears in the article, "Playing With Dolls," which was written by NMGs members.

 

July 2020, contributed a photo of a circa 1910 SFBJ Unis France doll at the request of Jolie van der Klis, who writes articles on antique dolls for the magazine, Poppen & Teddy Beer, published in The Netherlands. The article is in issue 129, August 2020.

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August 2020, permitted the use of photos of Jackie Ormes and 1947 Patty-Jo to Kelly Wenarsky, an online Outschool teacher. The photos will be part of a PowerPoint presentation on 150 years of dolls in America presented to a Zoom class of 4-8 young learners.

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August 2020, permitted a student to use photos of Hi Glamm Nicole for a character concept assignment involving 3D modeling and animating.

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November 14, 2020, interviewed on Instagram by Sandra Epps of Sandy's Entertainment and host of the Detroit Doll Show.

 

Edited the Winter 2021 UFDC Doll News article, "Goldie Wilson's Doll-Making Journey."

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January 17, 2021, Conducted a slideshow presentation for Motor City Doll Club, "Presenting DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum.

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January 2021, interviewed by In the Doll World about DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum. View the interview here.

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February 24, 2021, interviewed by Clay Risen, quoted, and contributed a photograph of  Baby Whitney dolls for February 25, 2021, New York Times article, Loretta Whitfield, Creator of a Doll With a Difference, Dies at 79. 

 

Summer 2021 UFDC Doll News article, "Establishing and Curating a Virtual Black Doll Museum"

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March 28, 2021, Garrett's collector's profile is featured in an October Gallery YouTube video.

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August 2021 interviewed by Jolie van der Klis for an article published in the Summer 2021 issue of Poppen & Teddy-Beer (Doll and Teddy-Bear), a Dutch publication.

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"Rare Effanbee, Jayco, and Norah Wellings Dolls in DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum" was published in the Winter 2021 issue of Poppen & Teddy-Beer.

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December 22, 2021, interviewed by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant of WTOP Radio (Washington, D.C.) about DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum. The interview was published on January 3, 2022. "Woman creates virtual Black doll museum." 

 

January 5, 2022, Atiya Jordan of Black Enterprise reprinted the WTOP Radio article renaming it, "This Woman Created a Virtual Black Doll Museum, Reclaiming the History of Black Dolls." 

 

January 6, 2022, from the WTOP article, Ebony online published another article written by Savannah Taylor, "This Digital Museum's Curation of Black Dolls is Amazing."

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2021 Editor and book layout designer of Original Dolls by Goldie a Pictorial of Her Dolls by Goldie Wilson; published in February 2022.

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January 2022, interviewed by Molette Green of NBC4 In the Community about DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum. The interview aired on 02/24/22. View it here. 

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April 21, 2022, participated in the ASIS&T SIG-AH Virtual Symposium on (cataloging) Singular Collections hosted by Ann Graf, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences Simmons University. (ASIS&T stands for Association for Information Science and Technology; SIG-AH stands for Special Interest Groups Arts and Humanities.)

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June 2022. An article on vintage dolls installed in DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum is in the Summer 2022 issue of Poppen & Teddy-Beer, which is distributed in the Netherlands and printed in Dutch.

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Assisted Dr. Tehmina Goskar with doll identification for the Museum of Cornish Life Helson's June 30, 2022, through September 10, 2022, doll exhibition.

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Garrett's article, "Babies From DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum" is in the Winter 2023 issue of UFDC's Doll News.

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2023 Editor and book layout designer of "This Is Me" Original Black Dolls by Goldie Wilson my autobiographical journey into the black-doll world.

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February 2023- April 2023 interviewed by Emerson College student, Gwendolyn Mintz for the story, Black Dolls: Play, Resistance, and Determination. 

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May 2023 Interviewed by 'The Aither," an Australian-based website focusing on the arts, pop culture, and history. 

 

September 23, 2023 - January 7, 2024, loaned Effanbee Twinkie dolls to the N-Y Historical Society (again) for inclusion in the Black Dolls Exhibition which traveled to The Strong National Museum of Play.

 

March 15, 2024 - Black Doll Symposium, Building Archives of Black Doll Studies panelist, hosted by The African and African American Studies Department of Duke University; shared a PowerPoint Presentation on the Importance of (Black) Doll Archives.

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July 23, 2024 Received UFDC's Award of Excellence for Educational Endeavours through Dolls (nominated by the Motor City Doll Club). The award was established to recognize outstanding activity in fulfilling the objective of UFDC, which is to establish and promote education through dolls. Sharon Harbin, President of the Motor City Doll Club, accepted the award in Garrett's absence. 

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F

Additional articles by the author are forthcoming in these and other publications because ... Black dolls are her passion.

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