BlackTree TV's own Brooke Christopher sits down with Terrence Howard and gets his take on the significance of Disney's The Princess and the Frog. The relevance of this picture in discussing Dr. Kenneth Clark's Doll test, and just what it means to be a Disney animated character.

JAMES (voice of Terrence Howard) is Tianas inspiration and she is the legacy of his love. A strong, loving father who has instilled his daughter with her ethics and with a familiar bond in New Orleans residents: their love of good food. You see, James tells little Tiana, food brings folk together from all walks o life. It warms em right up, and puts smiles on their faces—and when I open my own restaurant people are gonna line up for miles, just to get a taste of my food.
Our food, Tiana lovingly corrects him.
Supervising animator Ruben Aquino says, Its the core of what she wants and why she is the way she is. Ive got to sell the audience on showing how much love there is in the family and how James loves Tiana so much. He is always present in Tianas heart.

During the 1940s, psychologists Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark designed a test to study the psychological effects of segregation on black children. In 1950 Kenneth Clark wrote a paper for the White House Mid-Century Conference on Children and Youth summarizing this research and related work that attracted the attention of Robert Carter of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Carter believed that Clark's findings could be effectively used in court to show that segregation damaged the personality development of black children. On Carter's recommendation, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund engaged Clark to provide expert social science testimony in the Briggs, Davis, and Delaware cases. Clark also co-authored a summation of the social science testimony delivered during the trials that was endorsed by thirty-five leading social scientists. The Supreme Court specifically cited Clark's 1950 paper in the Brown decision. (less info)