The media and advertising have often skewed our world view with images that limit our aspirations as black people.

How many advertisements have you seen with black families standing in front of a boat or at the bottom of a ski slope on a winter holiday? Not many. This type of advertisement influences what people feel they are capable of and influences what they think they want (and don’t want) from life. If we don’t see the image of someone reflecting who we are, or who we can be, it’s easy to dismiss those opportunities as being ‘not for me’.

That’s why it’s refreshing to hear about a new Disney feature film opening in November called ‘The Princess and the Frog.’ This film depicts, for the first time in over 70 years of Disney animation, a black princess and her quest for a successful life. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/04/16/AR2009041603139.html?hpid=artsliving .

This new film offers a wonderfully healthy opportunity for conversations for black families to have about the many options and aspirations they can have. Black children can move away from wondering, why is Barbie white? And, where are the black dolls? I think the imagery of this film is so important – it’s critical for young black boys and girls growing up to see positive images in popular culture etched in their minds as possibilities.

For black boys the message is that they can grow up to be princes, doctors, lawyers, teachers, sales men – anything they want to be. 

I’m looking forward to watching the film with my two boys and discovering what the experience is through their eyes and what new aspirations they may discover for themselves.