How This 22-Year-Old Is Sketching A Space For Black Girl Animators And Making History While Doing It

By TonjaRenee via https://blavity.com

Taylor K. Shaw describes black woman animators as “unicorns.”

Many of us grew up watching cartoons, and just like any aspect of media, representation matters both in front of screen and behind the scene. Or this case, in front of and behind the cel.

Writer and producer Taylor K. Shaw recognizes that the animation industry isn’t exactly the most inclusive of fields, so she is doing her part to make sure the diversity ratio improves. When Shaw began searching for black female animators for her own project in Chicago, she realized the pickings were slim.

“I went on a search, and I couldn’t find any. Black women in this industry are truly unicorns,” the 22-year-old Chicago native told Teen Vogue.

There was nothing out there that specifically supported black female animators so — as black women usually do — Shaw took it upon herself to create Black Girls Animate. Black Girls Animate is the first animation company designed specifically for black women. Its members receive talent agency services, original content services and a collective of training and development.

Shaw notes animation teams rarely include women, let alone women of color.

“In animation, you don’t really see any women at all. You see a few white women, very few women of color, and hardly any black women at all. What we’re doing [here] is transforming the media landscape, and making sure that women of color are included in this space,” she said.

Shaw added that there’s also a poor understanding of why black women aren’t represented in the field.

“There’s no research at all. These demographics show women in animation, yes, and they show that most university animation programs are mostly women. But who is getting these jobs? White males. Men are getting the jobs, women …

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