Hmmmmm....

Okay, here's my issue at the moment...for some reason, I woke up with this on my mind and felt the need to blog about it. Yesterday, I went to AOL Black Voices and there was a blog post by someone. The post is titled "Disney's First Black Princess...Has a Prince Who's Not Black." I thought okay...so what? It's a cartoon, right? I went through some of the comments left after reading the article and man, some folks are totally outdone by the fact that a black female (Princess Tiana) and a non-black male (Prince Naveen) fall in love. Now, superficially, I look at this and think "So what...it's a cartoon..." But when I look deeper...I still say SO WHAT?! Interracial relationships are a reality, so why is it a big deal that it is reflected in a Disney movie? How many movies and TV shows are out there that show a black man involved with a non-black female? Plenty! So why the fuss?

I was watching a show on TV One this past weekend, and the hosts were talking about celebrities and there troubles with the law. One story really upset me...it was the one about Mike Tyson and Desiree Washington. Long story short, she accused him of rape and he was convicted. My anger isn't so much with the two of them, but at the reaction of the public, my people especially. Apparently my people were divided, some blamed Mike and many more blamed Desiree. Once again, more people blamed the victim. Granted, I wouldn't have went into the man's hotel room that late at night, but she did. This doesn't mean that she deserved what happened to her. What is even more upsetting to me is the fact that, according to the story, Desiree's life was ruined. This woman had to get plastic surgery, change her name, and basically uproot her life! Why?! While folks, black men and women, were in total support of Mike Tyson, who was supporting Desiree? Al Sharpton was in Mike's corner, but what big name person was in Desiree's corner? If people still think she lied, what did she gain from it? She's not rich....she's not some popular celebrity...so why continue the supposed lie? Could it be that she didn't lie? Seems like the obvious answer to me, but you may ask what does this have to do with a Disney movie? What's the connection? The common thread between the two is this...black women are to uplift, support our men, but we shouldn't expect the same in return.

Disney, for the first time after decades of movies, finally has an African American princess! Why can't that be celebrated? Why can't that be seen as progressive? Why is it that if the black woman, alone, moves upward, it can't be celebrated unless the black man is moving right along with her. Now, if a brotha finds success it is celebrated no matter what...and it is celebrated by the entire community. If Disney made a movie with a black prince and a non-black princess, would there be much complaining? Now...I'm not saying that a relationship with a non-black person equals success for a black person; that's not the case at all. What I am saying is that there is a double standard. For the moment, I'm done with my little rant : ) If you want to read the article that caused me to post this click here.