Halle Bailey In ‘The Little Mermaid’ Is Representation Black Girls Need To See

Well, it’s finally here. This is the month Disney releases the live-action reimagining of its Oscar-winning animated musical ‘The Little Mermaid’ starring singer and actress Halle Bailey. The exact date the movie opens is May 26.

Amid the excitement about the film, Bailey has been the target of racist trolls who question the casting of a Black actress as Ariel, the mermaid who traded her otherworldly singing voice for a chance to be a human.

Over the weekend, Bailey addressed the negative comments that launched a private Facebook page.

Members wrote, “We are not being racist nor childish. We want a beloved character to stay the same.”

As opening day draws near, the 23-year-old has staked her response on a longstanding racial legacy.

“As a Black person, you just expect it, and it’s not really a shock anymore,” Bailey said in an interview with The Face.

Bailey recalled when she and her sister signed with Beyonce’s management company in 2015.

She said, “Beyonce was like, ‘I never read my comments. Don’t ever read the comments.’”

There have been plenty of comments about director Rob Marshall’s choice of Bailey for the star role. And the positive ones from Black Americans have overshadowed the vitriol directed at Bailey.

Last year on Twitter Bailey wrote, “People have been sending these reactions to me all weekend and I’m truly in awe. This means the world to me.”

Since the controversy started, organizations focused on celebrating and nurturing young Black girls have looked for ways to take them to the theater to see the movie.

In St. Petersburg, Florida, a production company is hosting a screening of the movie and inviting 200 Black girls to join them for free. Black On The Scene’s founder Tamia Iman Kennedy started the GoFundMe account which has already raised $4,000 of its $15,000 goal. Two other local businesses are collaborating with Kennedy.  Cultured Books will provide each girl with a free copy of the newly-released, TheLittleMermaid, and Courageous Leap is giving vouchers for swimming lessons.

Bailey’s Ariel has already inspired girls and grownups – before the movie even packs theaters nationwide.