Roberta Bell made an African American Heritage series of porcelain dolls. She use the dolls to teach black history to her students in Chicago where she taught school. Carefully researched these 26 character dolls are dressed in authentic historical clothing, depicting the time in which each person lived. Each person is noted for his/her contribution to history. Rev. Richard Allen stand at the pulpit in Philadelphia at Mother Bethel AME Church, Harriet Tubman has her rifle as she conduct the Underground Railroad. Sojourner Truth as an abolitionist-Suffragette. The first historical doll made by Ms. Bell was George Washington Carver, Scientist, and her last doll was that of Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago. All dolls are approximately 18" tall and marked "Bertabel's Dolls". Ms. Bell holds the honor of being the first black to become a member of the National Institute of American Doll Artists. The Philadelphia Doll Museum is one of the 10 institutions that house the entire collection.

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