It is difficult to write about toys and the business of play without acknowledging the chaos that is currently taking place in America’s streets. All of us have been impacted by the death of George Floyd, which was just the latest in a number of deaths of black citizens at the hands of police or those who think they are the police.
We in the toy industry have an outsized influence on children and, therefore, the future of our country. The toys we offer to children and the ways we package and market them shape their skills, abilities, aspirations, and a sense of where they belong in the world.
The question I, therefore, ask myself is: “Does the toy industry have a role to play in making a more race-blind society? And, if so, do we do enough?
In order to find out what you think, I am asking you to answer this six question survey:
