It’s a weird, weird world when a toddler has to school an adult about racial bias… over the purchase of a doll.
The toddler in question is Sophia Benner in South Carolina, and she’s a viral inspiration at the moment, after her mom posted about an incident at a local Target.
Sophia’s parents promised her a new doll if she would just please, please, pretty please with sugar on top poop in the potty for a whole month straight. Pretty sweet deal.
Sophia agreed to the deal and earned her prize. (Nice going, kid.) Her mother, Brandi Benner, took her to a Target — where Sophia immediately fell in love with a black doll.
More:Kids’ surprising request to parents: Talk to us about racism, please
Apparently, the sight of a little blond white girl clutching a dark-skinned doll was too much for the cashier, who asked Sophia if she was “going to a birthday party” and the doll was a gift for a friend.
Brandi Benner let the cashier know that the doll was a prize for Sophia being fully potty trained. The cashier’s response? “We have lots of other dolls that look more like you.”
And yes, we checked: It is indeed 2017.
The cashier added, “Are you sure this is the doll you want, honey?”
According to Benner, her daughter’s response was, “Yes, please!”
The cashier was still incredulous (really! 2017!) and replied, “But she doesn’t look like you.”
More:Teaching kids to stand up against racism
Benner wrote on Facebook, “I immediately became angry, but before I could say anything, Sophia responded with, ‘Yes, she does. She’s a doctor like I’m a doctor. And I’m a pretty girl and she’s a pretty girl. See her pretty hair? And see her stethoscope?’”
The cashier finally dropped the matter, and Sophia and her new best friend were on their way.
Little did Benner know that her potty-training bribe would become the stuff of internet legend. She said she is “blown away” by the overwhelmingly positive response her post on Facebook has received.
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