Justice

Lego Unveils New Wheelchair Lego

January 28th 2016

Toy manufacturer Lego just unveiled its first ever wheelchair figure, on Thursday at the London and Nuremberg Toy Fairs.

The new Lego figure is part of the set called "Fun and the Park" and features a boy in a grey beanie along with a helper dog, according to CBC news. The new minifigure first appeared on Lego news blog and was shared on the Bricksfan website.

The move comes a year after the social media campaign #ToyLikeMe started a petition on Change.org calling for more disability representation in their toys. The petition received more than 20,000 signatures. The campaign's mission is "[c]elebrating disability in toys & calling on the toy industry & children's TV to better culturally represent 150 million disabled kids worldwide," according to the group's Facebook.

"There are 150 million children with disabilities worldwide," the petition said. "Yet these kids are arriving into a world where, even before they’ve left their mums' laps, they’re excluded or misrepresented by the very industry that exists to create their entertainment, the objects that fuel their development, the starting blocks of life: Toys!ing a petition for the company to include minifigures with disabilities."

Previously, Lego had resisted the group's efforts. In the past, "several sets submitted by fans to the Lego Ideas website have included wheelchairs built from Lego bricks," according to CBC news. "None received enough support from Lego fans to be made into a set available for sale."

But this time, Lego listened and people are applauding.

According to the Guardian, Toy Like Me co-founder Rebecca Atkinson was thrilled.

“We’ve got genuine tears of joy right now," Atkinson said. "Lego have just rocked our brick-built world!”

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