The Little Mermaid's Real Black History and the books to prove it

The Little Mermaid's first iteration (1989) as a white woman stole concepts from Ancient African history. The new version of her as a Black woman was condemned and trolled in certain quarters and affected its box office performance

Hollywood has a long history of strip mining Black history and re-presenting it as generic, with no reference to its source material.

In this interactive presentation we will cover:

• R acism in film production/distribution
• W hite versions of African history and legends that make big money for Hollywood
• African civilisations pre-European invasion
• Brazil, Cuba, Nigeria, Panama and Streatham
• Why 'we don't want a Black mermaid' and who is 'we'
• Black rip off 'historians' and sell outs
• Black Goddesses and White Patriachy, can they co-exist
• Black women in publishing successes and inspiration
• Twenty in 2020, twenty black british authors published in the year 2020

PLUS

We will hear from Black-owned, women led, Jacaranda Books (publisher of Black History Walks Volume 1) about their award-winning books and their pioneering work as promoters and publishers of African/Caribbean stories. A variety of books will be on sale.

We will also hear from:

Dr Michelle Asantewa the author of 'In Search of Mami Wata : Narratives and Images of African Water Spirits'. She is also convenor of the increasingly popular Osun river festival (13th August 2023) as featured on BBC Sunday Morning show 6th August 2023

Tony Warner the Chair of the African Odysseys film programme, which has shown Black diaspora films once a month for the last 17 years at the BFI Southbank. He is author of Black History Walks Volume 1, the first guide book on the African/Caribbean history in London's streets.

Other coming events from Black History Walks

• Black History Bus tour
• Black History river cruise
• Eugenics: Breeding out the Blacks and white supremacy
• African Superheroes Day @phoenixcinema
• James Baldwin season at BFI Southbank
• Regents Canal Black History Walk
• Theatreland/Secrets of Soho/St Pauls/Hackney/Mayfair/Notting Hill Black history Walks
• Black history cruise on Regents Canal
• How Black people Won world War 2 @the Africacentre
• How to rip off Black historians
• Black History Walks Volume 1 book launch