In an age where we black Americans are asserting our personhood, it is important that we not miss the big picture. Today, more than ever, we need to give our black children and youths characters that they can identify with. We also need to do more to ensure that our stories are passed from one generation to the next.
In a previous blog entry, I wrote about the need for more black comic book icons. However, a summer 2008 trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida prompted me to also draw attention to the lack of an African-American and African presence in the Disney Universe. We need more than Uncle Remus and Bear Rabbit, who aren't even on the radar today because they evoke memories of the old South.
Yes, I know Kiki Palmer from the Akeela and the Bee movie will be voicing the first black Disney character later this year, but the fact still remains that stories and characters from the Black Diaspora have not been part of the world that master storyteller and artist Walt Disney created. Did Walt think our stories weren't worth telling, making him a product of the racist American society at the time? Or was it because we black writers weren't doing enough to impress our stories upon the hearts and minds of the Disney gatekeepers?
The verdict is still out on that one, but I think now is the time to use our political power (as well as our skill sets) to inject more color into the Disney Universe. We black Americans, much like white ones, flock to the Walt Disney amusement parks in droves. And we are usually the first in line when a new Disney movie hits the big screen. So, if we're going to spend our hard-earned money on Disney entertainment, we black writers need to step through the cracks in the glass ceiling.
Of course, this injection of color isn't going to happen over night. When we talk about the Wonderful World of Disney, we are talking about a Fortune 500 company. The gatekeepers are going to pay big bucks for stories that have universal appeal. But just think about how you, me and us would feel today if 3-4 positive black icons - characters that look like us - had been introduced to the viewing audience at the height of Walt Disney's career. In my mind, such a move would have been equivalent to what activists accomplished at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. And the adoration that we now have for a man named Walt Disney and characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck would have reached an all-time high. More importantly, though, we would have been greeted at the gates of the Magic Kingdom by one or more of our black icons.
Black writers, the Disney Universe needs us and our black characters because our black children can't get enough of what the Disney Universe is offering. Let's figure out a way to leave our imprint on it. Mark my word, our children will thank us through their hard pursuit of positive outcomes.
Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
www.jefferyafaulkerson.com
Posted By: J. A. Faulkerson
Monday, September 22nd 2008 at 10:26AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
