By Diana Morose
I can recall so many more young Black girls represented in the media when I was younger. What immediately comes to mind are shows like “That’s So Raven,” “Sister, Sister,” “Moesha” and “True Jackson V.P” - just to name a few. These were shows that featured phenotypical black girls.
Two decades later I watched as Marsai Martin grew tearful on Keke Palmer’s January podcast, “Baby, This is Keke Palmer,” while talking about Disney’s lack of promotion for her show, “Saturdays,” which featured Black girls as the main stars. The series was cancelled in November 2023 after its first season and removed from Disney+ as if it never existed.
This contributed to a growing conversation about the lack of Black girls in leading roles of young adult media. But another factor, not given nearly as much publicity, is colorism -- instances of biracial women being cast in roles that call for dark-skinned black women.
As colorism is rooted within white supremacy, casting biracial or light-skinned Black women can be seen as more palatable when it comes to catering to a white audience. This is due to lighter skin being more closely tied to femininity while darker skin is equated to masculinity, which leads to a trend of light-skinned or biracial women being cast as the representation for Black girls. When it comes to Black boys or men there is seemingly no problem with casting dark-skinned men to play those roles.
The latest controversy that brings up the topic of colorism stems from Amandla Stenberg. The actress received backlash in January after Variety revealed the cast for the upcoming film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, “Children of Blood and Bone,” with Stenberg being cast in one of the main roles alongside Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris and Tosin Cole.
The young adult fantasy novel is inspired by West African mythology and follows the female protagonist, Zelie, as she joins forces with Princess Amari, played by Stenberg, to restore magic in the lands of Orisha.
Stenberg, who is a biracial light-skinned woman, was selected for the role even though the character she is portraying from the novel is not only dark skinned but also described as darker than the other members of her family, having a “dark brown, copper complexion.”
Colorism plays a pivotal role in the story, as Princess Amari is subjected to it by the people around her and is even encouraged to lighten her skin tone by her mother.
With color serving as a lynchpin within the novel, the Stenberg casting defies fan expectations, especially after hopes were raised for the cast to feature young African newcomers.
Last summer, there was an open casting call held for the film where it seemed that the author as well as the casting team were particularly hoping that Nigerian actors would put themselves forward for the role, as the story is set in a fictional version of Nigeria.
“Because this book is based on Nigerian spirituality and mythology, we are especially looking for Nigerians to submit,” stated Adeyemi, which further disappointed fans when the main roles went to high profile, established actors instead of casting newfound talent.
Stenberg previously faced similar criticism for starring in the 2018 film adaptation of the novel, “The Hate U Give.” The book, which featured themes of racial discrimination systemic racism, originally had a cover which depicted a dark-skinned girl with an afro.
In 2018, Stenberg walked away from playing the role of Shuri in Black Panther because of her light-skinned complexion.
“These are all dark-skinned actors playing Africans, and I feel like it would have just been off to see me as a bi-racial American with a Nigerian accent just pretending that I’m the same color as everyone else in the movie,” she said.
Despite this, Stenberg being cast in this role, and doubling down on why she believes her casting adds to the story, leaves me to wonder how genuine her previous statement truly was.
Stenberg addressed the “Children of Blood and Bone” controversy in an eight-minute TikTok video.
“I would never go after a role that I didn’t feel like was right for me to chase… I know that colorism is an insidious system that impacts every single facet of entertainment, just relentlessly,” said Stenberg.
Her casting ultimately does not make any sense when it comes to the story that is told within the book. It is essential to the story that Amari is darker than her family members and, with Damson Idris playing her brother, it makes Stenberg’s casting almost nonsensical.
Is the desire for acceptance by white audiences so dire that we would simply toss out such meaningful storytelling to be more palatable?
Amari’s skin color plays a fundamental role in Adeyemi’s story -- to the point where she feels ostracized from the other members of her family and from the other royals because of how she’s treated; there were even unfounded rumors circulating that her mother must have cheated because she is so much darker.
Amari’s mistreatment leads to the story unfolding where she aligns herself with the protagonist.
In the TikTok video, Stenberg mentions that Adeyemi was happy with her casting, which only makes the author complicit alongside the producers and Stenberg in the diminishment of this significant storyline.
Stenberg’s casting just continues the pattern of dark-skinned Black girls being overlooked in the young adult genre. Even when it comes to telling our own black stories.
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