Olmec Toys, Inc. collection

1985-1995

Founded in 1985 by Yla Eason, Olmec Toys, Inc. was the largest minority-owned toy company in the United States. It also had the industry's largest selection of black and Hispanic toys. By 1995 the product line extended to a variety of boy action figures, toys and dolls that included African-American, Hispanic and Asian baby dolls, toddler dolls and fashion dolls. Olmec coined the phrase "ethnically correct," referring to the doll's appropriate color as well as its sculpted facial features to accurately represent each doll's ethnicity. In 1994 Olmec had its product line in many major retail stores throughout the country, but it went bankrupt within several years. The Olmec Toys, Inc. Collection consists primarily of printed material acquired by one of its investors. Included are notices to shareholders about expansion of the product line and the purchasing of shares, minutes of meetings, an auditor's report, product catalogs, a sample comic book that was packed inside each box, and photographs of the original two action figures.