Not only is it a cute idea, it’s clever.
Disney is celebrating Black History Month with “We Are Doc McStuffins.” African-American doctors have partnered with the network to inspire children to pursue careers in medicine. Disney Junior’s animated Doc McStuffins debuted last year — and has become almost an overnight success. Targeted at kids ages two through seven, viewers get to see a portrayal of a little African-American girl dreaming of becoming a doctor.
Not only has the show inspired kids, but it has inspired a group of female African-American physicians to begin a “movement” they coined, “We Are Doc McStuffins,” reports Ebony. The group have since developed Artemis Medical Society, an organization of over 2,500 female African-American physicians and medical students representing 39 states and six countries. Its mission is to serve, nurture and celebrate a global sisterhood of women physicians of color through mentoring, networking and advocacy, according to the magazine.
Now the group has teamed up with Disney Junior, which will air “We Are Doc McStuffins” shorts, featuring Doc McStuffins alongside three real-life female African-American physicians and founding members of the Artemis Medical Society. They are Dr. Myiesha Taylor, Dr. Aletha Maybank, and Dr. Naeemah Ghafur.
“Doc McStuffins is important to me because I am that little girl. And it’s not just me. My female friends who are physicians have all been talking about Doc. We love what she represents… We didn’t have Doc or anything close to her on television when we were growing up. Many of the cartoons we watched contained stereotypes regarding minorities that would never be aired today,” Dr. Taylor told Ebony. “In 20 years we should see the first group of medical school graduates who will say their dream of becoming a doctor began when they saw their first telecast of Doc McStuffins…Won’t that be amazing?”
