Who is Thomas Ronald Washington?
The fourth season of the Hulu award-winning television series, Atlanta, features the fictional character, Thomas Ronald Washington. In 1992, Thomas Washington, a young black animator, allegedly received an oversight appointment as Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, an American multinational, mass media and entertainment conglomerate.

According to the series, The Walt Disney Company hired Washington as its new CEO following the 1992 Los Angeles riots. As a young boy, Washington was interested in animation. He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, intending to work for Disney.
The board of directors of Disney agreed to install Tom Washington as CEO after the temporary CEO passed away during the 1992 riots. But Thomas Ronald Washington ended up being the CEO by accident because of the similarity in the names of the favoured candidate and the company’s eventual CEO.
The board was compelled to keep Washington, despite its displeasure with the choice. In addition to wondering why Mickey Mouse would keep Pluto as a pet when Goofy is also a dog, Washington emphasised other changes within the corporation.
Is Thomas Ronald Washington real?
Although there have been questions regarding the authenticity of the original narrative behind Atlanta‘s closing episode entitled: “The Goof Who Sat By the Door,” some social media users have even argued that the show may be based on Floyd Norman, one of Disney’s first black animators.
The Disney Company has never appointed a black CEO, confirming that the story is fictitious. Norman, the company’s first African-American animator, was most likely an inspiration for the writers of the series. Norman claims that he was shielded from racism as a child in Santa Barbara, California. Norman chose not to retire and is still employed as a creative at Disney at the age of 87.
Conclusion
The narrative of the final episode of Atlantacentres on Thomas Washington’s goal to create “the blackest movie of all time,” one that would address all issues relating to African-American culture. He chose A Goofy Movie as the project, even using his son, Maxwell, as the inspiration for the character “Max Goof”.
The board of The Walt Disney Company had intended to choose a white guy named Tom Washington for the position. However, owing to a miscommunication, they chose Thomas Washington. To address all facets of African-American culture, Washington set out to make “the blackest movie of all time”.