‘Representation is key’ – Here are stunning photos from the African American Princess Series

Representation is everything! Most black girls grew up watching Disney, but it was only in 2009 that Disney starred its first black princess, Tiana, in The Princess and The Frog. Prior to that, we had the Snow Whites and the Bellas. Little Black girls need to know that they too can be princesses because they are phenomenally black and beautiful.

Also, there is so much news on police brutality towards Black people with many taking to the streets to protest. Racism has sparked hate crimes and colorism makes darker-skinned Blacks feel like outcasts among their own people and all these have polluted society so much so that we need some positivity to let our little ones know that they are precious and worth it; that there are people rooting for them to succeed in life.

It is with much joy that we welcome the African American Princess Series spearheaded by hairstylist LaChanda Gatson and child photographers CreativeSoul Photography to redefine our traditional perceptions of princesses as presented to us over the years.

It is a great way to let our little Black Queens in the making know that they too are “royalty, heroes and pretty” by giving them a version of Rapunzel or Snow White and any other iconic princess they can vividly relate to.

Gatson told HelloBeautiful that her creations were meant to fill the essential gap in Black representation meant for our Black princesses. What a way to grace out timelines with some #BlackGirlMagic.

“The idea was developed early on in childhood from the consistent lack of representation of black children in mostly all forms of media where children play a significant part. Even though I loved watching and reading fairy tales and fantasy, I would often re-imagine these characters more relatable to me and my culture,” she reiterated.

According to Buzzfeed, Gatson intended on putting her own spin to the “fictional princesses and global fairy tale,” from the worlds of Hans Christian Anderson, John Smith, Brothers Grimm, and Marvel by creating a “Black urban royalty” theme with her recreations.

Couple Kahran and Regis Bethencourt of Creative Soul, an Atlanta-based company, were the creative directors behind this amazing shoot that featured several melanated beauties including Flexin In My Complexion CEO Kheris Rogers in Atlanta and Los Angeles, TODAY reported.

Feast your eyes on these beauties.

Princess Jasmine

 

Cinderella

 

Rapunzel

 

Elsa

 

Tiana

 

Nala

 

Pocahontas

 

Snow White

 

Moana

 

Ariel

 

Shuri

 

Aurora

 

Belle

 

Anna