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Check out Mattel's new badass, hijab-wearing Barbie.

Ibtihaj Muhammad, who made history at the Rio Olympics, is the newest Barbie doll.

If the name Ibtihaj Muhammad doesn't ring a bell, it definitely should.

Muhammad represented Team USA at the Rio Olympics last year in fencing. She wore a hijab while competing — the first time an American athlete had done so.

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.


And now, Muhammad is making history again.

On Nov. 13, Mattel unveiled a new Barbie doll inspired by the champion fencer at Glamour's Women of the Year summit.

Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Glamour.

And it's pretty darn cool.

Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Glamour.

This is the very first time Barbie is rocking a hijab, which many Muslim women choose to wear in recognition of their faith.

"When I think about my own journey, me being a Muslim girl involved in the sport of fencing, there were people who made me feel like I didn’t belong," Muhammad said at the summit.

"For all those people who didn’t believe in me, this Barbie doll is for you."

Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images.

The groundbreaking new Barbie marks another step forward for Mattel, which has focused on creating dolls that are more inclusive and positive for girls and boys.

Throughout the decades, Mattel has (understandably) been hammered by many parents who've seen the Barbie brand as promoting unhealthy messages on body image and self-worth as well as suggesting beauty is linked to a certain, discriminatory look  (I mean, how many blonde-haired, blue-eyed Barbies does a kid really need?).

More recently, however, Mattel has made efforts to feature dolls that represent girls and women of color and a variety of body types. In November 2015, Mattel launched a campaign featuring a boy playing with a Barbie doll with his friends — "So fierce!" he exclaims in the ad. A month before that, it released a clever commercial (seen below) that encourages girls to dream big when it comes to their futures.

"When a girl plays with Barbie, she imagines everything she can become," the ad tells viewers in its conclusion.

It's an inspiring message Muhammad hopes her new Barbie doll will help spread.

"Today I’m proud to know that little girls who wear hijab — and, just as powerfully, those who don’t — can play with a Barbie who chooses to wear a headscarf," Muhammad said at the summit. "She’s a Barbie who is strong enough to wield a giant sabre and dedicated enough to spend years working her way to an Olympic medal."

More of this please, Mattel.  

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

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And then there are the kids were simply born for the spotlight. You know them when you see them.

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Lots of people give plenty of advice to help you cope in the early days but after the baby arrives, the focus shifts to solely the baby. It's obviously not a deliberate shift. Babies are just more shiny and new that the parents. But not everyone forgets about the parents once baby makes their grand entrance–some go out of their way to make sure the parents feel supported.

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Identity

Formerly enslaved man's response to his 'master' wanting him back is a literary masterpiece

"I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters."

A photo of Jordan Anderson.

In 1825, at the approximate age of 8, Jordan Anderson (sometimes spelled "Jordon") was sold into slavery and would live as a servant of the Anderson family for 39 years. In 1864, the Union Army camped out on the Anderson plantation and he and his wife, Amanda, were liberated. The couple eventually made it safely to Dayton, Ohio, where, in July 1865, Jordan received a letter from his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson. The letter kindly asked Jordan to return to work on the plantation because it had fallen into disarray during the war.

On Aug. 7, 1865, Jordan dictated his response through his new boss, Valentine Winters, and it was published in the Cincinnati Commercial. The letter, entitled "Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master," was not only hilarious, but it showed compassion, defiance, and dignity. That year, the letter would be republished in theNew York Daily Tribune and Lydia Marie Child's "The Freedman's Book."

The letter mentions a "Miss Mary" (Col. Anderson's Wife), "Martha" (Col. Anderson's daughter), Henry (most likely Col. Anderson's son), and George Carter (a local carpenter).

Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

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