In honor of Black History Month, The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion hosted an eat-along to Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” serving New Orleans-inspired food to celebrate the first Black Disney princess, Tiana.
“My idea for Black History Month this year was to recognize our history, but also bring in our culture. I wanted to recognize the history of the Black Disney princess but also bring in that culture of New Orleans food,” said Kylah Huggins, a senior and Diversity Peer Educator.
The eat-along, which took place in the CSDI office, began as an idea to create an interactive and culturally immersive event. Upon arrival, students were surrounded by a botanically decorated office and encouraged to enter a raffle for a self-care basket. Instead of simply watching the film, attendees got to immerse themselves in the cuisine pictured in the movie, such as gumbo, beignets and garlic noodles from the local Cajun restaurant, Bootleg Special.
“I really liked how we did it in the office because I feel like we don’t utilize this space enough,” said Stacey Jean Baptiste, a senior and Diversity Peer Educator. “It was really cozy and cute, we were able to chat because of how close together we were.”
The center was set up with couches and chairs in a semicircle around the TV. Attendees were invited to make a plate of food and get comfortable as the lights dimmed and the movie started.
“I walked by the French Quarter a lot last year and wanted to try New Orleans food and then I am really interested in the first Black Disney princess, so I thought why not mesh those two things together and just have an event where people can not only watch the movie, but experience the food from the movie as well,” said Huggins.
Beyond celebrating the culture and cuisine, the event additionally drew attention to the importance of representation in children’s media. Being Disney’s first Black princess, Tiana made a significant impact on young viewers who rarely saw themselves in media.
“Representation is super important on every level because it can feel really hard to feel you can achieve something, but when you see others doing it, it really ignites a fire in you,” said Jean Baptiste.
According to a study done by the Geneva Davis Institute in 2024, 48.9% of characters in children’s TV were of color, a drop from 56.9% from the year before. While progress is continuing to be made, the data from this study shows that representation still does not entirely reflect young and diverse audiences.
“I think it’s very beautiful to have diversity in media, primarily Disney where it’s predominantly white princesses,” said Huggins. “I am looking forward to any more princesses of color, especially black princesses, considering she’s a frog for a majority of the movie.”
By pairing the New Orleans-inspired food with the film, CSDI managed to create a space for students to recognize the historical aspects behind the first Black Disney princess as well as the importance of representation in media.
