Black-owned toy store to be featured in Obama Presidential Center
By Leondra Head
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ATLANTA (WUPA) — In Atlanta, one black-owned toy store is turning representation into a mission. The Brown Toy Box creates toys designed to celebrate diversity and help children see themselves in what they play with.
The store’s educational toy kits will be featured in the new Obama Presidential Center. The center is scheduled to open in June 2026 in Chicago.
Terri Bradley, the store’s owner, says educational kits that depict Black and Brown children in roles such as coders, app developers, and marine biologists are headed to Chicago to be featured at the new Obama Presidential Center.
“One evening, I was taking a nap, and I woke up, and I had a purchase order. It said Obama Presidential Center. I was like ‘What!’ I was just over the moon excited,” Bradley said.
Each kit includes a book, a hands-on project, and a toy that brings learning to life. A spokesperson for the Obama Foundation says they ordered 96 of the kits to go inside the center’s gift shop.
“They ordered STEM kits. That’s what we’re known for is our Brown Toy Box STEAM kits that include Science, Technology, Engineering and Math,” Bradley said.
Set on 19 acres in Chicago, the Obama Presidential Center will be more than a museum, it will be a space filled with art, gardens, gathering spots and a gift shop that highlights black-owned brands, including those from Bradley’s store.
“We’re excited that people around the world will be walking through there and will be able to see our kits,” Bradley said.
Bradley says representation is the heart and soul of the store.
“It was really important for me when I started Brown Toy Box, is for Black and Brown children to see themselves represented in play,” Terri Bradley, the owner of Brown Toy Box said.
The store is filled with educational toys that represent diversity.
“We want to be able to plant seeds. We want kids to see something that looks like them and say ‘I can go be a marine biologist or a chemist,” Bradley said.
For Joy Harris, shopping here for her young daughter is more than just buying toys, it’s nurturing her daughter’s identity and pride.
“For her (my daughter) to walk around and see toys and things that reflect her was just exciting to me. She gains a continued love of her skin, culture and appreciation for being able to learn in an environment that supports her and looks like her. She can find her identity,” Harris said.
The Obama Presidential Center is still under construction and scheduled to open in June.
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