Le’Dor Milteer started organizing a screening for her daughter, but it grew to a community event. 
Fulton Board of Education member Michelle Morancie will be among the speakers at the screening. 
Sandy Springs City Councilmember Melody Kelley will join the other speakers in addressing the girls at the screening. 
Carrington Manous, Miss Greater Atlanta’s Teen, will be another community member to speak at the screening.
A private screening of “The Little Mermaid” at The Springs Cinema and Taphouse in Sandy Springs will allow little girls and their parents to see the latest film rendition of the tale and to hear from community leaders.
The screening at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 28 started with Le’Dor Milteer’s desire to show her daughter a movie with an important message. But it morphed into a community event with speakers and art to emphasize the point that representation matters, she said.
“At first, I organized this event for my 7-year-old daughter, Phoenix,” Milteer, the organizer of the event, said. “But while planning it, I realized that all of the little girls in my city deserve to attend, just as much as she does. And, it’s a significant movie that has relevance in my community because of the controversy surrounding a Black actress playing the role of the mermaid.
Milteer said representation matters, as shown by her daughter wanting to be a doctor because of the cartoon “Doc McStuffins” on the Disney Channel. The Disney Junior cartoon is about a young Black doctor who can fix toys with the help of her friends.
“So, you can only imagine how excited I am about her hearing from such a dynamic group of Black women leaders in her community,” she said.
The community leaders who will speak include Melody Kelley, a Sandy Springs councilwoman, Carrington Manous Miss Greater Atlanta Teen, Sandy Springs Middle School Teacher Mrs. Ryann, Michelle Morancie of the Fulton County School Board District 7 and Namari Dance Center.
Local businesses such as Trader Joes, the nonprofit organizations Most Valuable Kids of Greater Atlanta and Sandy Springs Together, Goldfish Swim School and many individuals in the community are participating by sponsoring children/families, concessions and food donations.
Learn more about the event and purchase tickets online.