I once dreamt I was a princess

Like most little girls, my birth name was pleasantly discarded by my parents, aunts, and uncles in exchange for the ever-popular moniker, "Princess." I took the name and the position seriously. On any given day after school, you could catch me trying on the previous year's Easter dress, putting on my plastic crown, and humbly ruling over my cotton-stuffed, fur-covered subjects.

As I grew older, I internalized my royalty and accepted by responsibilities. I learned how to be polite and voice my opinions; maintain my poise and be genuine; be nice and tell the truth. Believe it or not, my examples of great princesses came from Disney movies.

I watched Cinderella repeatedly, sang along with Aladdin's Princess Jasmine, and hoped that I, like Belle, could one day tame a beast. Although I knew the movie lines practically verbatim, I knew that I was far from being anything like those princesses. Their jeweled crowns rested on top of long, straight, flowing hair. While my plastic one sat on top of jet-black cotton. Their skin ranged in shades from peach to light tan, while mine was a deep shade of chocolate.

This summer, after reporting on yet another story, I vented to my classmates on a metro ride. I told them how angry I was that in all of Disney history, while there were principal female characters of European, Japanese, and Hawaiian descent, that there were no black princesses. Neither I nor my little sister could fully pretend to be any of those characters. I became upset at the thought that my future daughter might not be able to either.

This week, one of my classmates who suffered this session of my periodic venting sessions, sent me an e-mail. She said that she thought of me as she read an article about Disney's announcement that they will have a black princess.

While this may mean nothing to some people, it means that after the movie premieres, a little black girl will be able to put on her plastic crown and sing along to someone that looks like her. She can know that she too is an image of royalty.