Allison, as you noted with Mama Wata, the Yoruba of West Africa have worshipped the ULTIMATE MERMAID in the Ocean Mother Goddess, the Orisha Yemaya. Check out the link :

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-history-of-yemaya-goddess-mermaid with

This uproar is just more of white supremacists being white supremacists in their ignorance of anything -- not white. A pity for sure. Maybe they ought to re-think this whole book-burning, can't-teach-anything-Black in schools shit -- keeps their asses ignorant to THE WHOLE WORLD, IMHO. I feel real sorry for their kids.