Of course mermaids can be Black. Elaine K Howley delves into the mythologies behind Hans Christian Andersen’s enduring fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, exploring a rich aquatic spiritual culture of West African mer-creatures including Mami Wata and many other watery gods, goddesses and powerful swimming creatures. 

Hans Christian Andersen’s enduring fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, published in 1837, gave the Western world a template for the quintessential mermaid: a comely, pale-skinned half-woman, half-fish creature that lived beneath the waves but longed for an immortal soul.