Archer “Archie” Coffman, 5, seldom sees himself mirrored in the rows of figurines as he wanders along a toy aisle.
When there aren’t toys like him, he asks why, as Archer’s mother, Niki Coffman, expressed. He notices.
When asked how it feels to not see toys that resemble him, Archer responds, “Not good.”
Everyone should have that, says the youngster. It makes them very happy.
Archer saw that thrill personally when he got a surprise present from Fisher-Price: a Little People toy crafted to look just like him.
She opened the box and began crying, Mississippi resident Niki Coffman recalls. Archer inquired. She told him, ‘Archer, they made you.’ His little jaw fell.
He snatched the box from her grasp…whipped around and exclaimed, ‘It’s me!'” It’s me!’ She continues. He demonstrated it to everyone. He didn’t put it down all day.
Niki Coffman, 38, and her husband Andrew adopted Archer soon after he was born.
She couldn’t have a baby, admits Coffman. She’d had surgery a couple of times, and didn’t want to go down the path of intensive medical interventions.
The couple met Archer’s birth mother, KKay, whom the family refers to as Archer’s first mother since she did so much more than give birth to him.
She wasn’t in a great spot and didn’t have a lot of assistance, but she’s an amazing mom, Niki adds. There are a few instances in her life that have been as terrible to her as the moment she placed him in their arms. It was crystal clear what it was going to cost her to make our fantasies come true.
She kissed his tiny little face and kept saying ‘I’m sorry’ over and over, Niki continues. She’ll never, ever forget it.
Archer’s original mother, according to Niki, is an important part of his life, and they pay her frequent visits. Niki, his second mother, says she constantly strives to respect KKay in how she raises their kid.
She is the only other person on the planet who understands what it’s like to be his mother, she adds. That’s a responsibility, and she takes it seriously.
When someone makes the sacrifice for one’s dreams to come true, one do adoes one can to live up to that choice, she continues. And when one is a white parent adopting a child of another race, it’s a complex, bi and responsibility. They were aware of this going in, and she understood how crucial it would be for them to make sure he could see himself.
Niki has spent the last five years looking for toys, books, and Christmas decorations that resemble her kid.
When a firm succeeds in supplying a wide range of toys and items, she calls them to express her gratitude. When a business fails, she writes a letter gently requesting that they “do better.”
Niki chose to urge individuals to contribute varied and inclusive toys, books, and art materials to Archer’s mostly white preschool for his fifth birthday.
Many of the contributions were Fisher-Price’s Little People, which are miniatures of kids of various skin tones, hair textures, and physical skills.
What’s hard to find is a toy with brown skin and red hair, Niki explains. So she wrote to Fisher Price, thanked them sincerely for the work they were doing, and then left a P.S. that said something like: ‘If you ever decided to design a Little Person with brown skin and red hair, please let us know.'”
Niki soon got a response from Gary Weber, Fisher-Price’s Vice President of Design.
“Your story has been shared with everyone who worked on the Little People figures you mentioned, and to say that it made our day would be an understatement,” Weber responded. “You and Archer have inspired us! We know that when kids play with Little People, they are playing out scenarios they see in the world around them, and feeling like they are a part of that world is critical.”
Weber closed the email by requesting the family’s address so Fisher-Price could “make sure Archer and his school have the full representation of our Little People figures.”
Niki Coffman got a special package from Fisher Price on Tuesday, May 23.
There was a letter from the Little People team on top — a wonderfully printed, framable letter—and everyone in their department had signed it, Niki adds. Inside the box were wonderfully wrapped boxes, each with a little Archer figurine. They got everything just right: the sweater, the green shorts, and his small loafers. They did an excellent job with his hair.
The amount of work, effort, and care they put into this toy was astounding, she continues. The number of individuals who clearly worked on this just keeps blowing her mind. It’s difficult to express how powerful it seems to think of people she don’t know in boardrooms somewhere looking at a picture of her kid and thinking, ‘What else can we do?’ Because as a mother, she asks herself every day, “How else can I smooth the path for him?”
According to a Fisher-Price spokesman, Niki’s email was shared throughout the company, and it truly touched all of them.
They felt such a sense of pride knowing how they had impacted just this one family, adds the representative. How could Niki’s letter and that breathtaking image of Archer not move someone? It is really important to them. They do what they do because they witness the delight and delight on every child’s face while connecting with or playing with one of their toys.
A Fisher-Price staffer also directly contacted Niki through Instagram.
They wrote to tell her, ‘I have a Little Archer on my desk,’ she explains. They basically ordered one for each and every member of their staff.
This was an entire team effort across Fisher Price, says a Fisher-Price representative.
Gary Weber and the design team’s leader, Dafna Mor, led the charge to ensure that Archer had his own LP figure. They collaborated with the whole LP team to create Archer’s physique, from his hair to his clothes to his smile.
Niki believes Archer’s Little People figure is more than just a toy; it is a reminder that representation counts.
She adds that she fears things she can’t control, like him being killed by police or people treating him like an adult, adding that Archer is “big for his age.”
She can’t control any of that, but she can make sure that the spaces he’s in right now help him realize just how wonderful he is; that his school takes the time to understand that he has brown skin and that not seeing color doesn’t help.
She needs them to have toys and books that look like Archer so they understand that brown skin isn’t inferior, she explains. And as a white woman with a black child, she is in an incredibly unique position to help individuals comprehend why representation matters. Black parents are exhausted, and they already understand the significance.
Archer has continued to contribute Little People toys “with brown skin like mine” to his preschool for the enjoyment of his classmates.
He has an Archie Army, he declares.
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