Collection: 1970 Hasbro 12″ G.I. Joe African American Adventurer: A Revolutionary Figure in More Ways Than One

Now this, this right here...isn’t just a toy! It’s a symbol. A bold, plastic, afro-wearing revolution sitting in the palms of Black children during the 1970s. The 1970 Hasbro 12-inch G.I. Joe African American Adventurer wasn’t just the first Black G.I. Joe action figure: it was one of the earliest mainstream representations of a heroic, powerful, Black man in American toy history.

I say this with pride and urgency: This figure broke ground in the battleground of representation.

We know America wasn’t built for Black heroes. For generations, our children played with dolls that didn’t look like them, and when they did, it was often a caricature, not a champion. So when Hasbro released this African American Adventurer in the early 1970s, at the height of Black Power and Afrocentrism, it was more than a business move,  it was a cultural shift.

This wasn’t just G.I. Joe in a new color. This brother came with an afro, a chiseled jaw, and gear that suggested he was an explorer, a leader, a man of strength and intellect. He was not the sidekick. He was not the background. He was the adventure.

To a generation of Black boys (who were being told they were thugs, criminals, and problems) this G.I. Joe said: You are the hero. You are the leader. You are the face of courage.

This figure emerged just as our communities were demanding more visibility, equity, and truth in education and media. He represented a subtle but significant acknowledgment that Blackness is not a limitation: it is the essence of greatness.

And let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a toy for play. For many Black families, this G.I. Joe sat on shelves like a trophy. He stood next to encyclopedias, next to Ebony and Jet magazines, next to framed photos of elders who had fought their own battles. He was ours.

“The 1970 African American G.I. Joe Adventurer was more than a plastic man with kung-fu grip: he was a declaration. He said to Black children: ‘You have the right to imagine yourself as bold, brilliant, and unstoppable.’”

- Dr. Tracy P. Washington (Curator, United Crowns Mobile Museum of Black History & Culture)