In the summer, many Americans daydream about mermaids. Thousands sojourn to New York City's Coney Island for the Annual Mermaid Parade, decked in aquatic apparel. Parents bundle their children together for day trips to state parks, seeking live mermaid shows performed by acrobatic swimmers like the Mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida. And many try to summon the mermaid’s underwater world with wet, wavy hair as if tossed by the ocean, dark makeup that recalls the siren’s sultry nature, sequins that shimmer and snatch light like fish scales, all while donning sea-themed accessories—a fashion trend called "mermaidcore."

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This fad, our national mermaid obsession, began in the 1920s, was revived in 2023, and is now resurgent in 2025. In popular culture, mermaids offer us a chance to be sexy and edgy, to let our problems slip away as we dip our toes in luxury. But there’s another side to our American mermaid lore. In African American history, mermaids have long been a symbol of collective rebellion. This history carries a vital lesson: escapism can offer more than respite; it can also generate new ways to challenge social oppression.

For centuries, Black enslaved communities invoked mermaids as they organized rebellions against slavery. From the 16th century, kidnapped West African ancestors brought water spirits across the Atlantic and introduced them to the New World: the simbi from the Congo, the orisha (like Oshun) from Nigeria, or the vodun (like Ayida Wedo) from the Fon. In West African lore, these water spirits were worshiped for healing and protection, and they took many forms, from snakes to fish-tailed women.

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Slavers also used the image of the mermaid, seeing it as a cultural patron of their slaving enterprise, a wraith that delivered the

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