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Bear loves to go on YouTube. As I mentioned before, he has his own YouTube channel and he loves to follow various YouTubers (Mr. Beast and Flamingo are current favorites). I can’t protect him from everything he sees on YouTube, but I usually try to explain things if there are question marks.
And the other night, Bear gave me a big one.
“Mommy, I saw there was bad news!”
“Well, what’s the bad news?”
“People are mad the Little Mermaid is Black!”
“Well, she’s a fictional character, honey. She can be any race. Also, she’s a fish. Fish have no race.”
“Yeah, but people are really mad that she’s Black!”
“Yeah, that’s called racism.”
He looks at me with a question. “Racism?”
“Yeah. Racism is when you don’t like someone because of their race.” I paused for a moment. “Let’s say I told you you couldn’t play with Wren anymore because she’s white. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“No, it wouldn’t. That would make me mad.”
“Exactly. You’re supposed to treat everyone the same regardless. And if the Little Mermaid is Black, that’s fine, too!”
Bear looks at me and nods. “That’s fine, too!” And then he ran off.
I’m sure by now, everyone has heard of the controversy with the live-action casting of The Little Mermaid. Why the 8.5×11’s are so upset over a fictional mermaid being of a different race is beyond me. Like I told Bear, the last time I checked, fish don’t have a race. It stupefies me how everyone is okay with a lobster having a Jamaican accent, but a mermaid being Black is where they draw the line?
And what really blows my mind is that there have been other fictional characters that were played by Black actresses:
Cinderella, played by Brandy and Keke Palmer:
Belle from Beauty and the Beast, played by Toni Braxton:
It is not to say those ladies didn’t receive racist backlash (I vividly remember Brandy received a lot of it), but I do believe with the rise of the alt-right and people feel comfortable being openly racist and facist on the internet (and in real life), The Little Mermaid backlash garnered more attention.
And let’s face it, the issue is a bit deeper than just Ariel having a bit more melanin. There has been a weird vibe online within the past several years that Black girls and Black women can’t be successful, thrive, and happy. Not only do we get racism from outside our community, but we also have the double-whammy of misogynoir within our community. Many people quickly call us Black [insert insult here] to prove a point: Black bitch, Black whore, Black whatever. And they emphasize both.
And it’s a battle, and I’ll be honest. Black women are only cared about during election cycles. The other times, no one cares about us. So when we thrive, it bothers people. Maybe they look at themselves and realize they aren’t where they should be. And perhaps they look at us and want us to be knocked down a peg or two. And trust, I’ve had that happen to me a few times by people who I thought were friends and supportive.
Black girls are taught from a young age we are literally all we have. We need to work harder, and smarter, just for half the credit. We will always find a way. The strong, Black woman troupe is so lauded because we often make a dollar out of 15 cents and still thrive.
But if people want us to be the Mammies, the sexpots, the sassy best friends…why is there a problem that we can also be princesses? Or does that not fit into their racist view of what Black women should be?
I think Halle Bailey will be just fine. She has a core group of supporters around her, and she has a lot of people (myself included) who want to see her win. The racists can stay mad and I hope they do. Racism isn’t good for the soul and most racists look pretty ugly.
Die mad, bitches. We will thrive regardless.
