# Serious business: Please list easily recognizable black female cartoon characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536 "2011-09-25T06:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/21 "2011-09-25T11:23:40Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/22 "2011-09-25T14:00:46Z")
I’ve got the perfect character for Halloween: [Sistah Spooky from Empowered.](http://adamwarren.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=72#/d1ogwub) A witch, no less! (That’s her standing on the back cover.) ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/23 "2011-09-25T14:43:21Z")
It’s a bit esoteric, but how about [Diana the Acrobat](http://www.absoluteanime.com/dungeons_and_dragons/diana.htm), from “Dungeons & Dragons”? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/24 "2011-09-25T15:18:52Z")
There was a “Star Trek” cartoon so Lt. Uhura is a possibility. [Link](http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Uhura.html) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/25 "2011-09-25T15:33:56Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Zecora in MLP:FiM is half black and half white, but somehow I wouldn’t recommend you go as her I had to Google this. Very cute. > [@sitchensis](#): > > ETA: I’m a white dude from whitewhiteistan Couldn’t find this on a map, but I suspect it may be in Minnesota. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > [Lana Kane](http://archer.wikia.com/wiki/Lana_Kane) FTW. I mean, I hear Aisha Tyler’s voice when I read your posts anyway. All you need is a turtleneck, short skirt and some gun holsters and you’re good to go. [Seriously, who wouldn’t love this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH47r58X2lA&NR=1) Okay, first, I take you reading my posts in Aisha Tyler’s voice as high praise since I love her. Secondly, excellent idea. That reminds me, my friend who introduced me to Archer said I reminded him of Lana. Friend: The show will change your life. (He seriously said this.) Plus there’s this character, Lana, who totally reminds me of you. Me: Is she black? Friend: Yes. Me: … Friend: There are other reasons! Re: Other suggestions. I thought about Storm, and figured that was stretching it a bit, even though it was a Fox cartoon. Also, I don’t know about sporting the white hair. I also thought about the girl from Jem, but was Jem ever that popular? I think Lana Kane is taking the lead on this one, as Archer is recent, most folks at the party are probably fans, and the out probably wouldn’t even need an explanation. Although my sweater/dress will have to be a wee bit longer. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/26 "2011-09-25T15:46:43Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Hmm, I thought about that, but then thought the costume itself might look too much like Sleeping Beauty or some other generic cartoon princess. Then again, at this point I’ve already conceded that the costume won’t be recognizable until an explanation. It’s not like I’m going to just be Olive Oyl and have people know right away. For part of the movie Tiana is wearing a light blue Cinderella style gown, but looking online it seems like her “official” costume is the light green “leafy” gown she wears at the end. (There is a licensed version of this costume available for adults.) I think it’s sufficiently different from the other Disney princess gowns that people would realize you weren’t Sleeping Beauty or Belle. I think Princess Tiana would be a good choice just because you would have several choices of what to wear. If you care about being accurate to the movie you could go with the licensed adult Tiana or Cinderella costumes or some other green or blue gown, or you could wear a slinky white dress with a feather boa like in Tiana’s dream sequence. There’d also be the more casual option of dressing like a waitress, Tiana’s day job. If you’re not that concerned about accuracy then just wearing a dress and tiara would probably get the idea across…as long as you had a toy frog with you. 🙂 I’d say whichever version of the Tiana costume you chose, a toy frog would be an essential accessory. Marcy Cobb from _Jump Street_ has already been mentioned, and she’s the only black female comic strip character who sprang readily to my mind. Nurse costumes should be easy to find around Halloween. I don’t have cable so I wouldn’t easily recognize any _Archer_ characters myself, but I know a lot of people who watch the show so I think people would get it if you were Lana Kane. It also seems like a reasonable approximation of her costume would be fairly easy to put together. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/27 "2011-09-25T15:49:52Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Okay, first, I take you reading my posts in Aisha Tyler’s voice as high praise since I love her. Secondly, excellent idea. It was meant as such. PS, if you haven’t seen it, Aisha Tyler is Lit is available on netflix watch instant. > [@](#): > > Friend: The show will change your life. (He seriously said this.) Plus there’s this character, Lana, who totally reminds me of you. > Me: Is she black? > Friend: Yes. > Me: … > Friend: There are other reasons! This sounds like an exchange Archer and Lana would have. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/28 "2011-09-25T18:05:22Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > This sounds like an exchange Archer and Lana would have. I was going to say exactly that! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/29 "2011-09-25T18:37:43Z")
Totally unhelpful post: The first thing I thought of when I saw “black female cartoon characters” in the thread title was that black-and-white cat that Pepe Le Pew is always pursuing. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/30 "2011-09-25T18:53:02Z")
Archer: You’re black…ish. Lana: Ish!? Archer: Well what’s the word for it, Lana? You freaked out when I said quadroon! Lana: (sarcastic) Imagine that!! Archer: You imagine it! Malory: BOTH OF YOU IMAGINE SHUTTING UP!!! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/31 "2011-09-25T19:01:07Z")
No one seems to have mentioned that “Between Friends” has a black woman as one of the stock characters. Black and thoroughly middle-class like all the characters in the strip. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/32 "2011-09-25T19:04:56Z")
Well, you could paint a white stripe down your back and be pursued by amorous French skunks. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/33 "2011-09-25T21:03:37Z")
Okay, so we have Tiana, Lana, and Valerie, which fails to rhyme with Tiana and Lana. What I get is going to depend on what’s easiest for me to cobble together. Thanks for the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/34 "2011-09-25T23:50:49Z")
Does “cartoons” here mean animated or still? If still, another possibility is Dr. Bunnigus of [Schlock Mercenary](http://www.schlockmercenary.com/) (that’s her in the last panel of today’s strip), though you might need some extra padding, and I don’t know how to make the epaulets hover. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/35 "2011-09-26T00:01:02Z")
If you’re still considering options, here’s [Monica Rambeau (picture)](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ol-6fOTBf3o/TBI9WPMNntI/AAAAAAAAASw/MWhEQNU2H-o/s1600/Photon.JPG) aka Captain Marvel aka Photon aka Pulsar. [Character summary here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Rambeau). I’d still vote for Storm, but there is the whole hair issue with her… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/36 "2011-09-26T00:30:41Z")
Some anime characters: > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/37 "2011-09-26T03:38:07Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Okay, so we have Tiana, Lana, and Valerie, which fails to rhyme with Tiana and Lana. What I get is going to depend on what’s easiest for me to cobble together. > > Thanks for the suggestions. I stil think Nurse Marcy is the most recognizable of them all. ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sealemon2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/38 "2011-09-26T04:36:43Z")
Coming in late to the party but Vixen is recognizable to anyone who reads Justice League. She was in the JLU cartoon as well. > **[Vixen (comics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vixen_%28comics%29)** > > Vixen is a superhero created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner. She first appeared in Action Comics #521 (July 1981), published by DC Comics. Through the Tantu Totem, which allows her to harness the spirit (ashe) of any animal, past or present, and use their abilities. > Two versions of the character appeared in The CW's Arrowverse. Original comic book character Mari McCabe debuted in the CW Seed animated series Vixen, voiced by Megalyn Echikunwoke, who also reprised her role in an episode of the liv... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/39 "2011-09-26T04:56:53Z")
[Roy Greenhilt](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0235.html) ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536/40 "2011-09-26T05:22:06Z")
Maybe only recognizable for younguns like myself, but [Susie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susie_Carmichael) from the Rugrats has a consistent outfit and hairstyle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-business-please-list-easily-recognizable-black-female-cartoon-characters/597536.md?page=3)