Ohio woman has been collecting African American souvenirs for decades

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Dawnita Redd of Ironton, Ohio has amassed a huge collection of African American and political souvenirs. Redd says she has been collecting them since childhood.

The 69-year-old retired social worker has Black dolls that are still preserved in their boxes and are stacked almost all the way up to the ceiling in her single-story home. One part of her collection includes a room full of Barbie dolls — including the first line of Barbie dolls to be produced — and one that she received from Africa.

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According to the Herald Dispatch, she has a collection of rare Black Barbies dressed in Navy, Air Force and Army uniforms.

“I love showing those ones to people,” Redd told the outlet. “I feel like they can relate to them, especially if they’ve served our country in the Army.”

Her love of dolls started as a child when she saw Barbie dolls displayed in the windows of Huntington stores, but her family couldn’t afford to purchase one, according to the outlet.

Redd’s collection includes homemade political pin-sheets based on the political career of former President Barack Obama, organized by age and event. She hopes that the pin display will one day be donated to the Obama Presidential Center Museum.

“By this point, if you lay ’em all out, you’ve got his complete story,” Redd said.

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Her political souvenirs also consist of signed autographs from every current living president and vice president except for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“This has all been for me, but I do joke that I should’ve been collecting money the whole time,” said Redd. “I hate to say it, but I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with it all before long.”

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