SEATTLE, Wash. – Nov. 20, 2018 – Real Life Bricks aims to address the LEGO® toy diversity gap by releasing new minifigure conversion kits in shades of brown that are not readily available. As a response to LEGO® sets’ ubiquitous yellow minifigures that the toy-maker says are meant to represent every ethnicity, Real Life Bricks has developed four kits with dark, medium or light brown shades to honor diversity. Kits include heads, hands and hair pieces that are customized from authentic LEGO® parts and compatible with LEGO® minifigures. Also included is a short storybook and biographical information trading cards featuring positive representations and stories of Black and Brown people from around the world.
Real Life Bricks is helmed by a multiracial family—husband and wife, Giselle and Josiah Fuerte, along with their preschool-age son who is 10% owner—who developed their conversion kits after they had a difficult time finding Black and Brown minifigure characters to better represent their children, family and friends.
“We are an AfroLatinx and white multiracial family. But there is a huge gap in toys that mirror the way my children look,” said President of Real Life Bricks, Giselle. “Research shows that when Children of Color play with toys and characters who look like them, it builds their self-esteem and lays the foundation for leadership skills. And white children develop compassion for other races when they see positive representations of People of Color in media and toys. Our product can help parents normalize diversity.”
The LEGO Group, makers of LEGO®, has fielded calls to make their characters more diverse, most publicly in the form of an online “Petition to Make Lego Minifigures More Diverse,” and a direct tweet to the LEGO Group from television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes expressing incredulity at the lack of fair representation. But the company has remained steadfast in its choice to keep its yellow minifigures as they are. Yet research consistently shows that a color blind ideology and lack of diverse representation are counterproductive and even harmful to Children of Color and white children alike. Real Life Bricks is positioning itself to answer the call for diversity in the LEGO® space.
Real Life Bricks is currently taking preorders at https://reallifebricks.com. Kits will begin shipping on November 27th and will be available for purchase on Amazon.com at that time.
About Real Life Bricks LLC:
Real Life Bricks positions itself at the intersection of demographic reality, the promotion of the healthy self-image of children, and the benefits of constructing with construction toys like LEGO® bricks. We do this by depicting racial and ethnic diversity in the world as it really exists through minifigures of color designed to be compatible with popular brand construction toys. We show parents of color and their children how valued and important they are by providing minifigure heads and hands in the skin colors that resemble them. Non-POC parents and children are given the gift of playing with minifigures that reflect the demographic realities of the world they live in, thereby enabling their positive connections to humans of all races and ethnicities.
Media ContactCompany Name: Real Life BricksContact Person: Giselle FuerteEmail: Send EmailPhone: 866-930-3034City: SeattleState: WashingtonCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://reallifebricks.com
