Name: Sarah Collins
Made by and When: Rachel McCullough Sherrod of Starkey’s Daughter Cloth Dolls, January 2022
Material: Wool-blend felt (face, legs, and arms); cotton blend (torso and head); rayon (plaid dress)
Marks: The hangtag bears the doll’s name, the artist’s name, address, and the year made
Height: 16 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Hand-made black Kanekalon wig, painted brown eyes, painted mouth with painted teeth
Clothes: 1960s-style red-plaid dress, undergarment, white socks, and red Mary-Jane-style shoes with cutouts at the toes; wears a right eye patch
Other: Part of the artist’s Heritage Dolls series, Sarah Collins represents the fifth “little girl” who was severely injured but survived the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The bombing took the lives of four little girls including Sarah Collins’ sister, Addie Mae Collins. Sarah was 12 at the time. As a result of the church bombing by a Ku Klux Klansman, Sarah suffered major injuries that included shards of glass to the face and the loss of her right eye.
The artist has created tribute dolls for the four little girls who lost their lives during the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. View that installation here.
Gallery (Photos of the Sarah Collins tribute doll are courtesy of Sandra Randolph of Leland, NC.)
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