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It’s well known among people of color that Hollywood prefers its coffee with lots of cream, not black. That casting bias has again been exposed with the recent backlash regarding In the Heights’ exclusion of dark-skinned Afro-Latino characters, who largely populate the real Washington Heights. Unfortunately, when it comes to casting characters who are Black — especially leads — Hollywood prefers to dilute the color to a less threatening coat.
Colorism is so destructive that it has long infested the Black community to the point where there has been discrimination against darker Blacks by lighter-skinned Blacks. And now there’s a movie written and directed by POC, yet it still reflects the popular adage of my youth: “If you’re white, you’re all right. If you’re brown, hang around. If you’re black, get back.”
