'Black princess' is not good enough

I almost completely shaken by how naïve and oblivious I have been when consuming the content of Disney movies. I was excited for Princess and the Frog; I loved the movie and the soundtrack. The idea of a black princess made me excited as I'm sure it did for many black girls. However, Disney did this movie wrong... so. very. wrong.

First of all, the setting is just bad.
Time: 1920's
Place: New Orleans, Louisiana
Problem: 1920's America was a RACIST AMERICA. Don't get me wrong, America is still racist. Well, let me be more specific: 1920's America was a segregated America, especially within the South. Louisiana, being in the south, I can guarantee was no a pretty place for many black Americans-- including Tiana and her mother. So help me understand why Disney would DARE to place a CHILDREN'S movie that in that setting? Disney took segregated, racist America and made it colorful and full of soulful jazz music. Disney got the culture right in good ole' Creole New Orleans, but they didn't get the society right. And how could they? How do you make a children's movie about racism and segregation?
Answer: YOU DON'T. YOU LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE. YOU STOP TRYING TO TELL YOUR OWN PRIVILEGED STORY OF OTHERS PEOPLE HISTORICAL STRUGGLES. And yes, I mean privileged. It is a privilege to be able to play with and remove the struggles of an entire RACE for your own motives and gains.

Second, the implicit relations to radical organizations and obvious racists is, again, just bad.

Examples: Duke's place
Problem: David Duke (see the relation) is a white nationalist and a former leader of the Klu Klux Klan. He might've been the former Republican state representative of Louisiana, but that becomes irrelevant in light of everything else he stood for. And on top of naming the place after him, Tiana works there-- as a waitress. So not only is the building named after a man that supports white separatism, but the black protagonist of the movie WORKS FOR HIM. So, Disney, are you telling me that she's his subordinate? Because it sure looks like it. It sure looks like Disney is showing a strong racial structure.

Third, giving black women typical "mammy" jobs is... say it with me now... just bad.

Jobs: Waitress, seamstress/nanny
Problem: "Perhaps a little woman of your...background, is better off where you are." Thanks for acknowledging the rich, white men of 1920's New Orleans were prejudice towards a poor, black woman, but that's inappropriate in a Disney movie. Especially a Disney movie that little black girls are hoping to identify with. THANK YOU for placing that quote smack dab in the middle of crushed dreams of little black girls after they waited so long to be represented. You did a great job of telling them that their "background" affords them nothing but a job as a waitress. OR even better, their skills are best put to use tending to the needs of a young white girl in the home of the richest white man they can find. While I appreciate that this reflects the times ACCURATELY, I'm just concerned about why this is the part that Disney decided to get right? Isn't Disney supposed to build big dreams for its child audience? How come the little black girls don't get that?

Lastly, the happy ever after at the end is good, but bad.

Ending: Tiana is willing to give up her dreams, remain a frog, and marry prince Naveen. She marries him, they become humans again, and she gets her restaurant.
Problem: This isn't even problematic for it's racial implications. Tiana was the ONE Disney princess without the goal of finding true love and getting married. Her goal was a restaurant that her father had dreamed of opening. She had no desire to fight for a prince. And yet, Disney bases her happy ending and accomplishment of her dream on her marriage to Prince Naveen. He is her stepping-stone. He gets her the reward needed to fund her restaurant, and, in connection to race, he raises her from the pitifully low stature as a black woman, because he's technically an Indian man.

Let's acknowledge the fact that I love Tiana for being an independent, black woman. I love her for having dreams and goals that didn't surround a man. But I hate Disney for making this movie so terribly wrong. Why can't Disney learn to leave well enough alone? They could've just put the black princess in a castle and let her be courted like everyone else, but they can't help being the intrusive, destructive company that they are.

For more information on Disney's P&F, feel free to read the article that sparked this response: "The Strange Case of The Princess and the Frog: Passing and the Elision of Race" by Ajay Gehlawat.