Let me cap off the whole Craig of the Creek 'this is wonderful' thing in a thread because I don't want to keep harping on it for the rest of the week and this sort of gels into the the older cartoon thread as well.

Let us talk for a moment about LEGACY.

The reason why me and a few others harped on the CotC post was because of the implication of CotC existing erased a lot of Black themed and Black created shows in the past under the guise of 'they don't happen much so everyone should be celebrated'.

1, while-

-for the most part if often feels like Black themed shows are under-represneted by shows with White protags, celebrating quantity over QUALITY is part of the reason we're in an animation rut in the first place.

2, the fact that CotC isn't even lead by Black creators sort of-

-breaks the whole goal people keep saying we should have about 'supporting Black shows made by Black creators'.

OKKO was made by a Black creator and according to the rules these guys set up, it should be getting more praise than CotC.

And you already know how I feel; I don't think there is a problem with anyone of any race making a show about characters who are not their race but with these stupid fucking rules that keep being put into place about who should make what and how we should support it based-

-on time limitation, these people celebrating the fuck out of CotC are already breaking their own rules which shows not just how they flip flop for that 'crumb' of attention but how pointless these fucking rules of appreciation are.

This is where LEGACY comes in.

We should not erase cartoons from the past just because they're from the past and yes, that includes even the 'problematic' ones. Even the problematic ones can and should be preserved to showcase the mindset that was gone on at the time, both good and bad and to mark how-

-we've grown since then as well as being the ground work for a lot of things we make and celebrate today. Sonic is turning 30 years old next year and that wouldn't have happened had the old 16-bit Genesis game not made an impact.

For Black cartoons, a lot of us WE'RE inspired-

-by the likes of Static Shock and the Proud Family and many of us going further into the 90s, 80s, 70s, and 60s.

To suddenly be told that those shows 'don't count' because they're old and not current enough is to say out inspiration and groudwork is not legitimate enough.

OUR experiences are not legitimate enough because it wasn't made three months ago.

That's what's hurtful. That's what stupid. And for the fact that Black cartoons often feel like they come rarely to a lot of folks, it's even dumber to erase them.

People, 'FIRST' has been done long ago and being 'first' in something doesn't mean you're the best.

The first plane isn't something that we would consider safe or reliable but guess what? That 'first' laid the ground work to what we have now and what will come in the-

-future. We shouldn't forget it or consider it unimportant because was older.

You can like Craig of the Creek, but to create a false mantle for it by discrediting other Black lead cartoons is insane.

And I will use Static because it was a show made by a Black man from his own stories.

Saying Craig of the Creek is 'first' is erasing McDuffie who worked his ASS off to make his own legacy and to prove that Black creators and characters had a story to tell and even HE-

-was inspired by other Black creators. You see? It goes back and back and back to build to the future but no one wants to build. Everyone now is obsessed with REPLACING and that's how we end up with NOTHING.

If we replace, we're only taking away and LIMITING ourselves.

And I feel that has more to do with people caring about their own fame than creations. A lot of the worst shows and characters are from people who don't want to share a legacy but create their own by dismantling and discrediting those that came before them and those that-

-made it possible for them to even get through the door.

That's what's so hurtful. That's what's so depressing. And like I said, the idea that a show like Static has to 'not count' over something that was made by two White guys and plays like every other show on CN-

-shows off a worrying mindset.

I'm not worried about kids not getting enough Black characters or shows anymore.

I'm worried about Black kids throwing away any show that is older than a year-

-because they're told that because it's not 'new', it's not good enough.

So instead of building a massive stockpile of both old and new, they will continue to have a meager collection and always feel they are left out when in reality they have more than they know.

So if you want more Black cartoons, support people who do something new but also remember the past to know where they got that inspiration from and how far we have come.

Craig of the Creek can exist and people can enjoy it.

But it should not be treated as the main and only support pillar of where we've come from and where we can go, especially when it's not even made 'by our own' if that's so damn important.

Don't erase those that made it possible for us to move forward.

Mama out.