The Princess Little Black Girls Deserve: A Conversation with Eldonie Mason

Aside from Princess Tiana in Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” little Black girls rarely ever get to see princesses that look like them—and princess stories from the Caribbean are rarer still. So when ELDONIE MASON’s 5-year-old niece told her she couldn’t be a princess because they were white with long hair, Mason got to work writing a book with a beautiful Black girl as a princess. The result is “The Adventures of Princess Anyah of Antibarba: The Fishing Expedition” and Sidebar host KIZZY COX spoke with Mason, who’s originally from Antigua, about the importance of telling Caribbean stories, how her company Predestined Media is aiming to bring more Caribbean content to the forefront and how she’s balancing her entrepreneurial ventures with her full-time career as a lawyer in entertainment, business, fashion and estate planning. Her hard work has yielded numerous accolades including the 2025 Caribbean Boss Lady Award from Carib Biz Network for her vision and positive impact in her field. In honor of Women’s History Month, Mason’s dedication to Caribbean culture, Black representation and Black financial literacy serves as an inspiring example of the myriad ways women effect change. --------- The opinions heard in this episode belong to the individuals who made them and not to NYABJ. Music by HoliznaRAPS. For more information on the New York Association of Black Journalists, please visit our website at www.nyabj.org.