Image | Facebook
The internet has rallied behind a little girl in an emotional outpouring of support.
Three-year-old Samara was enjoying a fun day dressed as her favourite Disney Princess when she was racially attacked by a stranger telling her that “black is ugly” and that “Queen Elsa isn’t black.”
Rachel Muir from Ballarat, Victoria, says her daughter burst into tears after the racist attack by another woman and her two daughters at a shopping centre in Melbourne this month.
Rachel and Samara, who are both Aboriginal, were attending a Disney-themed event where they waited two hours in the queue for the children’s snow pit.
My daughter was in tears when we were at watergardens for the frozen activities as a mother & her 2 daughters told my…
Posted by Rachel Muir on Sunday, May 31, 2015
Shocked by the attack, Rachel shared her story on Facebook. In a post that quickly went viral, she wrote that: “Racism is alive & well in the next generation.”
Speaking to the ‘Ballarat Courier’, Rachel described her shock. “I looked around the line and there were little girls of all different races lining up dressed as their favourite Disney characters,” she said.
“We were in Melbourne, one of the most multicultural places in the world.
“I couldn’t believe it.”
Young Samara was so upset by the incident that her mother says she then pointed to her skin and asked why she was black.
Rachel said: “I told her ‘because God gave you that skin colour, because you’re a proud blackfella like mum’.”
Thankfully, the shopping centre would not stand for it, and agreed that the woman’s “behaviour was unacceptable”.
And it seems everyone else agrees too, as Rachel’s post has now been shared thousands of times, as the family has been flooded with messages of support that include:
“She is beautiful… Don’t ever let anyone tell her any different….”
“That’s terrible Rachel. Samara is gorgeous and I’m sure you tell her that regularly!”
“That mother and her kids should be ashamed of themselves telling your daughter those terrible things.”
The internet has rallied behind this beautiful Princess in an emotional outpouring of support.
Samara has now been cast as a young Cathy Freeman for Indigenous Hip Hop artist Briggs’ new clip for the song “The Children Came Back” – a collaboration with Paul Kelly and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. Briggs shared this adorable behind-the-scenes video with her to his Facebook page.
Behind the scenes w/ Princess Samara :: The Children Came Back – Briggs x Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu x Dewayne Everettsmith #TCCB
Posted by Briggs on Saturday, June 20, 2015
Briggs told the ABC: “Samara was already a star when I met her. I wasn’t told until after we shot the film clip about what had happened with that oxygen thief of a human who abused her. Samara wasn’t cast in the clip because she was vilified, she was cast in it because she’s awesome.”
Mother and daughter were both invited onto Ten’s ‘The Project’ too, where Samara wore her full Elsa costume.
Interview with Queen SamaraWe surprise the 3 year-old girl & her mum who were subject to racial abuse at a Disney event #QueenSamara #TheProjectTV
Posted by The Project on Friday, June 19, 2015
She has also been made the cover star of her local paper, the ‘Ballarat Courier’.
One of the happier front pages in a long time: http://t.co/PTdSxYPFaD #Ballarat @FairfaxRegional pic.twitter.com/6ezpjoU0Ws
— The Courier (@ballaratcourier) June 17, 2015
GO SAMARA!