SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Spartanburg will give Beacon Street in the Highland Neighborhood a second name next week, unveiling a Kitty Black Perkins Boulevard sign at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The honorary marker goes up beside the existing street sign. District 5 Councilmember Janie Salley brought the idea to Spartanburg City Council, saying the tribute recognizes how much the Black family has meant to Highland.
Perkins spent her childhood at 444 Beacon Street with her parents and six brothers and sisters. After she finished at Carver High School in 1967, she headed west and studied fashion at Los Angeles Trade Tech College.
Mattel became her professional home for a 28-year run. She rose to lead fashion and doll concept design for Barbie, a first for the company, and retired in 2004. Among her creations were the first Black Barbie and the Shani doll line.
The street honor is not the first local tribute. Her name is already on the county library system’s maker lab, a hands-on teaching space inside the downtown headquarters library on South Church Street.
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