[3][4] The two women have collected more than 300 pieces of work related to classic cartoons and animated feature films; the traveling exhibition showcases 60 of these, including drawings, cels, posters, and storyboards.
[9] Before the 1970s, theatrical cartoons either did not include black characters, or represented them in a stereotypical and derogatory manner.
During the 1960s, the larger studios began to edit out these characters, and many cartoons were removed from television altogether an outcome of the civil rights movement.
These role models for black children imparted messages of responsibility, education, family values and friendship.
Animation is not a subject commonly covered by museums, and had previously been overlooked by museums portraying the social and cultural history of the civil rights movement; Thompson and Williamson worked to convince curators of the importance their retrospective in documenting struggles and aspects of the decade.