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This Black History Month, add another beautiful Black doll to your child’s—or your own—collection.
Described as a “curious, bright, humorous and young girl who has a natural interest in learning computer programming concepts from her mom,” Somi is an interactive African American doll that exposes kids to computer science concepts in fun and innovative ways through cultivating logical reasoning, problem solving skills, and boosting creativity.
Rocking a “Princess Can Code” empowerment shirt, and bead-adorned braids Somi speaks over 200 words and teaches various computer science concepts—including algorithms, artificial intelligence, web pages, JavaScript and HTML. Somi is also the first interactive STEM doll to raise cyberbullying awareness, teaching children how to identify and report offenders.
Somi creator Bukola Somide has found herself “the only Black person or Black woman” in the room countless times throughout her nearly twenty-year career in IT. Born in Nigeria and having moved to the States as a teenager, Somide says she knew she’d pursue a degree in computer science when she was just a sophomore in high school.
As Somide and her Innovant Technologies, LLC team sought to increase the number of Black girls interested in computer science, their research found the perception among young Black girls was that computer science was boring and too complex, leading them to question their own intelligence and feel inadequate. Additionally, many young girls felt they lacked access to relatable mentors who could challenge those perceptions. Hearing those concerns, Somide wrote “Somi the Computer Scientist: Princess Can Code,” a story and activity book for kids.
Bringing Somi to life, Somide sees the doll as an opportunity to inspire African American and girls of color to see computer science as a viable career path, as women of color comprise less than ten percent of women currently pursuing computer science degrees in the US.
“Representation matters in tech because it gives hope to under-served children who may otherwise think their dreams are impossible due to lack of accessible role models,” Somide said in a statement. “A child seeing a doll who looks like them, engaged in Computer Science, helps to shatter a mental ceiling by reshaping their perspective.”
Afrotech praised Somide and “Somi” for working to close the access gap between computer science and Black and brown children, writing: “The interactive [Somi] doll uses real-life situations to explain coding terminology to children and hopefully, to break down educational barriers.”
In addition to the Somi doll, Somide has also created gender-specific coding activity books and plans to launch a children’s clothing line, all with the goal of enabling kids to see their unlimited potential. Somide told Afrotech, “true innovation comes from reshaping how a child thinks. I believe in laying a solid foundation as a building block to inspire more innovative ideas.”
Candice Marie Benbow is theGrio’s daily lifestyle, education and health writer. She’s also the author of Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @candicebenbow.
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