Brooke Hart Jones created HBCyoU Dolls to “share the magic of HBCUs.”
Photography by Amani Sodiq
HBCyoU Dolls is the first and only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) doll line sold in major retail stores worldwide. An Oak Cliff native who graduated from Kimball High School, Jones went on to attend an HBCU herself.
“I went to Hampton University, which is a historically Black college, and it was really, really a wonderful experience,” Jones says. “It was a culture shock. … A lot of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and kids of politicians and entertainers and businessmen and things. I still had some diversity there as well.”
Jones left college with a finance degree and decided she wanted to “take Wall Street by storm.” She immediately decided she was not a huge fan of finance and transitioned to merchandising.
“I enjoyed New York, but two and a half, almost three years was enough, and I realized that the University of North Texas had one of the best fashion merchandising programs in the country,” Jones says. “So I decided to attend UNT for fashion merchandising a few years after college, and then worked for JCPenney and their buying program for a while, and through turn of events, I ended up at Dave and Busters.”
She worked as a merchandise buyer at Dave and Busters, selecting the prizes that attendees win with their tickets.
“I was selecting those for close to 12 years, and it was an amazing, amazing experience, great, great culture there, a lot of fun,” Jones says. “But after 12 years, and I was turning 40 soon, I was like, I feel like it’s time for me to make a change.”
She left Dave and Busters and worked at a hospital gift shop for a while. COVID hit, and a lot of retail and merchandising on the back end shut down. After being furloughed, the idea for HBCyoU Dolls came to be.
“I was looking for a birthday present for a little girl and thought it would just be a fun idea because her mom’s a proud alumna like myself. I made (a doll) for her,” Jones says. “People on social media loved it, and I started selling them. I didn’t even have a website when I started.”
She later partnered with Purpose Toys, which helped get the dolls into retail stores such as Walmart and Target.
Due to several factors, Jones and HBCyoU Dolls have recently undergone a rebrand.
HBCyoU Kidz, the new venture, is an animated sing-along YouTube and book series for kids. It introduces children to the history, culture and importance of HBCUs.
“(The dolls were) a wonderful journey for two and a half years, but now we’re revamping the brand and taking it more digital,” Jones says. “It’s a YouTube channel similar to Gracie’s Corner but still the same mission of sharing the magic of HBCUs. So fun little songs and videos teaching children about HBCU culture and history, inspiring education, self-esteem, while having fun doing it, and also books as well.”
For now, the dolls are on hold.
“You know everything that’s going on in the climate, economically and just a lot of uncertainty right now, I think it’s best just to take a break on that for now and revisit that when times aren’t so turbulent,” Jones says. “Because 99.999% of toys are manufactured in China, it’s kind of tough right now. I was already planning to take a break before all the tariffs and everything, just to relaunch the brand and take some time and then revisit the product.”
As far as physical items go, Jones will be focusing on books, coloring books and smaller novelty toys.
Another factor influencing this pivot is the shift to digital in the development of kids. Before, kids’ primary form of development was through playing with dolls and toys, Jones says, but a lot of that has now shifted to digital.
“Many kids watch YouTube, TikTok, cartoons. Our children play with toys a lot less than they used to. So we can complain about the evolution, or we can meet them where they are,” Jones says. “I’ve decided to kind of meet them where they are and provide safe, educational ways to introduce concepts of values and history and self-esteem, and that’s why I’m launching the YouTube channel.”
HBCYoU Kidz has two books out now: Which Yard Should I Go?: Alyssa’s HBCU Road Trip Adventure and Miss Juneteenth: Nicole’s Big Dream. There will also be a couple of videos about Juneteenth on the YouTube channel.
“I’ll also be introducing boy characters,” Jones says. “People would always ask me about when I was going to have boy dolls. Well, the cost of adding a new doll, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, just adding an additional doll. So that was difficult. But through this digital media, I can add as many characters as I like more easily.”
Being able to expand her audience and stay true to her mission is most important for Jones.
“My mission is to share the magic of HBCUs, and now doing it through YouTube at no cost, is able to spread that mission even further and reach more children,” Jones says. “It’s been a wonderful experience with the dolls, but I’m definitely excited for this new chapter.”
