Conservatives are slamming Disney’s “The Proud Family” cartoon TV series, in which young characters claim Abraham Lincoln didn’t want to free the slaves and then demand restitution for systemic racism.
Sparking the controversy is a Juneteenth episode of the “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” a reboot of an animated series popular in the early 2000s and now airing on the Disney+ streaming service.
Critics online have called for a Disney boycott for what they see as a racist, anti-American message.
But many others have applauded Disney for telling what they see as the truth.
“Slaves built this country. The descendants of slaves continue to build it,” the characters cry out, as photos of slaves working in fields fill the screen.
The performers go on to say that descendants of slaves in America have earned the right to reparations for their suffering. Images of black fists breaking free of chains and the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses are interwoven with the narrative.
“And continue to earn reparations every moment we spend submerged in a systemic prejudice, racism, and white supremacy—that America was founded with and still has not atoned for,” the youngsters continue in what appears to be a school talent show performance.
“We'll take the 40 acres! Keep the mule!” they shout, in reference to an order by Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman during the Civil War.
It called for giving some freed slaves 40 acres and a mule to use in building a new life.
Following President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865, President Andrew Johnson rescinded the order and returned 400,000 acres of confiscated land to the Confederate owners.
‘Do Something With Your White Privilege!’
Another clip from the show posted on Twitter by End Wokeness featured militant young students of all races marching with fists raised in protest of a statue as police in riot gear form a line. It’s been viewed more than six million times.Meanwhile, a gay black father standing on the sidelines watching the police march toward the children shouts to a white friend to save the children from arrest. “Do something with your white privilege!”
In a classroom scene, the characters discuss how Lincoln never wanted to end slavery.
“So it’s true—Lincoln really didn’t want to free the slaves,” a black student says.
The girl’s black teacher responds, “Actually, he wanted to deport us.”
“How far we have fallen. Shame on Disney for producing this nonsense. I will continue to boycott anything Disney related!!” Twitter user ShotGunBonnie wrote in a post on the social media platform.
“Imagine paying money to Disney to teach your kids to hate themselves and hate their country,” right-wing commentator Jack Posobiec wrote on Twitter.
“Republicans are losing their minds, calling on Americans to boycott Disney because of this scene from a Disney cartoon, ”The Proud Family,” social media influencer Brian Krassenstein posted on Twitter.
‘Anti-American’ and ‘Toxic’
Calls for reparations have escalated lately in real life. California lawmakers are eying possible reparations.The divisive cartoon is anti-American and is just as toxic to blacks as it is to whites, said Carol Swain, a fellow of Constitutional Studies with the Texas Public Policy think tank.
“It’s anti-black and anti-minority, because the message will be destructive for racial and ethnic minorities who actually believe what they are presenting,” Swain, a longtime political science professor, told The Epoch Times.
“It causes hopelessness. It doesn’t encourage people to participate in society in a positive manner.”
The cartoon’s message doesn’t urge young people to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities offered to everyone in America, she said.
Swain wrote, “Black Eye For America: How Critical Race Theory is Burning Down the House.”
Scenes in the cartoon appear to be taken straight out of a Black Lives Matter march, she said.
The show’s goal seems to be to stir racial tension, promote the LGBT agenda, and revise history, she said.
“That pains me, as someone who cares about America’s youth,” Swain said. “We should be loving each other, and we should be trying to learn from one another.”
The cartoon is highly politicized and doesn’t appear appropriate for children, she added.
“I would say they’re pushing the 1619 project revisionism when it comes to Abraham Lincoln and white people in America.”
Backlash Against Disney
Disney built its empire on appealing to children and should pay a high price for pushing “woke” content on little ones, Swain said. But the company’s increasingly political stances have hurt the company’s image and bottom line.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis aims to dissolve the special status Walt Disney World has enjoyed for more than 50 years in Florida.
DeSantis signed a bill last April to dissolve Reedy Creek’s special tax status. That move came just weeks after the company’s CEO criticized a new Florida law that barred teachers from classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3.
The Disney corporation has been taken over by people whose only interest is advancing an LGBT and racial agenda, Swain said. Americans need to send Disney a message with their pocketbooks.
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
“It won’t get better until we stand up and resist it,” she said.
“Disney needs to continue to pay a high price for what they’re doing to our children and society as a whole.”
