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I am shocked and amazed by the below article written by Allison Samuels over at Newsweek, given some of her prior pieces.
Allison says:
For what seems like forever, I have waited for The Princess and the Frog.
This is the first Disney animated film about an African-American
princess, and this delightful fairy tale couldn't come at a better
time, what with the two little African-American princesses who live in
the White House. The newest Disney royal is named Tiana, and she's a
young woman with pools for eyes, a figure straight out of a fashion
magazine, and a big dream. Tiana wants to own a restaurant—she makes a
mean beignet—but she's so busy working to save money for it that she
barely notices when a prince comes to her corner of 1920s New Orleans.
Like every Disney prince, Naveen seems completely unattainable, though
for reasons that have less to do with his station or his dreamy French
accent than with our own, more modern concerns. Prince Naveen has a
tannish complexion, but he clearly isn't African-American. My fear is
that for many in the black community, the fairy tale may just end right
there.
Since the 1960s, marriages between black men
and white women have been steadily increasing—14 percent of all black
men are now married outside the race. Yet only 4 percent of black women
do the same. Why? Black women, for better or worse, have always seemed
to maintain a loyalty to the ideal of the black family unit. That's
understandable, even noble, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense
when so many black men don't feel the same way. Combined with the
disturbing number of black men in prison, that means 47 percent of all
African-American women today never marry. With those numbers, I say
it's time for many black women to start thinking, and acting, like
Tiana.
I'm certainly not suggesting that we all follow in the steps of a
fictional character, but I am proposing that we take a good, long look
at what the fairy tale is trying to teach the children of the world—and
us. In The Princess and the Frog, we see a young girl not
inhibited by the color of her skin or her suitor's. Of course, the film
makes that easy by changing them both into frogs—it's a long story—so
that color becomes the least of their concerns (after, say, the whole
eating-flies thing). This gives them the opportunity to get to know
each other without the added pressure of who comes from where and who
looks like what. The don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover idea may be a
Disney cliché (see also Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, etc.), but it comes at a time when, as Prince Naveen might say, Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Just last month, a justice of the peace in Louisiana was forced to
resign after he refused to marry an interracial couple. It would be
wonderful if the black family could stay together to face down
society's prejudices, but black women can't shoulder that
responsibility by themselves. And they certainly shouldn't be consigned
to a lifetime of loneliness. Princess Tiana is able to find happiness
by wishing upon a star, but all that black women have to do is open
their minds.
© 2009 Source Newsweek
I truly believe the tide is turning and more BW / girls will seek their own happiness above that of the "community." If only the Black women who are still trying to save "black love" would take off their blinders and be honest with THEMSELVES, more and more would be free. Look around at the evidence and you will see that BW are in the fight ALONE trying to save "black love" and the "black family." If the man is not there fighting with you, then WHAT will you accomplish ?
