In December 2023, an AI study spearheaded by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) in partnership with Google Research found that screentime for darker-skinned actresses had increased by nine percent over the last 12 years. However, if we were to take a look at the current slates of primetime, streaming, blockbuster movies and even daytime programming—it likely wouldn’t reflect that finding.

To be clear, Hollywood has made strides in its endeavor to promote more diversity and inclusion in TV and film. Successful shows like “Insecure,” “Black-ish”, “Atlanta,” “Empire,” “Scandal,” “All American,” “Queen Sugar,” “Snowfall,” “Power,” “Abbott Elementary” and “Bel-Air” are all proof positive of that. But when it comes to solid representation for actresses of a darker hue in more nuanced, leading roles that lie outside of the “funny/sassy/angry friend,” “hyper-sexual friend,” “down on her luck friend” or the “struggling mother” tropes—the offerings are slim. For actresses under 30 specifically, the opportunities they receive in comparison to the ones offered to actresses of a lighter hue and/or those who identify as bi-racial are alarming.

For what it’s worth, this isn’t a drag or criticism to sisters with lighter melanin, but what it is a callout to the industry that seems to only want use them as the forms of representation for Black women across various mediums. From binge-worthy series, must-see movies to even your everyday commercials—Hollywood gatekeepers are consistently choosing to send the implicit message that only one type of Black woman is acceptable to be onscreen and that monoracial Black actresses of a darker hue are not. Nor are they talented enough to take on lead roles that speak to broader facets of our lived experience.

It’s a sad observation that falls in line with the long-discussed (and very well proven) negative and pervasive trend of colorism in the industry that has prompted more and more folks in and outside of the industry to speak up and speak out about it. Most recently, a viral thread posted on X/Twitter in August pointed out the lack of dark-skinned girls in nearly 10 upcoming young adult projects. A quick search for “darkskinned actresses” on the same platform will also provide countless comments from users expressing their frustrations and concerns over the increasing erasure of darker-skinned actresses.

“Darkskin actors/actresses have the range to play more than slaves and distressed black people, i promise,” wrote one user.

“We really need to talk about mediocre lightskin actresses accepting roles in movies depicting characters that were darkskin then turn around to talk about the lack of representation darkskin women in movies,” penned another.

“why do these tv and movie producers act like it’s hard to choose darkskin actors and actresses? it’s literally as simple as saying yes. they just refuse to give them a chance,” another said.

“I just think it’s crazy how industries can always find darkskin actresses to play slaves but they always pick a ‘lightskin’ to play a doctor or a CEO,but y’all not ready for that conversation(I just feel like everybody should have a chance and they stop casting the same three ppl),” another user wrote.

But the concerns aren’t just coming from the consumers. Back in 2018, “Euphoria” and “Dune” star Zendaya called out her own privilege and Hollywood’s propensity to cast lighter-skinned actresses that look like her in more projects than her darker-skinned counterparts.

“As a Black woman, as a light-skinned Black woman, it’s important that I’m using my privilege, my platform to show you how much beauty there is in the African American community,” she said at Beautycon Festival in 2018. “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a Black girl, and that needs to change. We’re vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to be the only representation of that.”

Later that same year, “The Acolyte” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies” star Amandla Stenberg also spoke out about her bi-racial/light-skinned privilege in an interview with Variety where she discussed turning down the role of Shuri in “Black Panther” in favor of letting a darker-skinned actress have the role. She also roped in Zendaya and “Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi into the conversation saying:

Something interesting has happened with me and Yara and Zendaya—there is a level of accessibility of being biracial that has afforded us attention in a way that I don’t think would have been afforded to us otherwise. Me and Yara and Zendaya are perceived in the same way, I guess, because we are lighter-skinned black girls and we fill this interesting place of being accessible to Hollywood and accessible to white people in a way that darker-skinned girls are not afforded the same privilege.”

Keeping in line with the rule of threes, let’s consider these darker-skinned actresses—Marsai Martin, Ryan Destiny and Lovie Simone—and the roles and opportunities they’ve been afforded since starring in hit shows.

Martin, who had her breakout role in ABC’s popular primetime series “Black-ish” has starred in few major films since the show wrapped in 2022 (“Little” and “Fantasy Football”) but has mostly been doing voiceover work. This is in spite of the fact that she’s super talented and made history as the youngest Black producer ever and youngest person to ever executive produce a film. Let’s not even talk about how her own coming-of-age show that she pitched for Disney Channel, namely “Saturdays” that featured a cast of mostly darker-skinned girls, got canceled after only one season.

Destiny, an uber talented singer alone, landed her breakout role in Lee Daniel’s “Star” back in 2016, but the show only lasted three seasons before it was ultimately canceled. And while she did land a recurring role in season three of “Grown-ish” and is set to star as the lead in the upcoming sports film “The Fire Inside,” she’s been relatively absent from the screen.

Simone, whose breakout role in OWN’s highly successful series “Greenleaf” back in 2016, should’ve made her a household name—but she hasn’t been given much airtime either. And while she did initially find some success after the show went off the air in 2020 by starring in shows like Prime Video’s “Selah and the Spades,” “The Craft: Legacy,” and Apple TV+’s hit show “Manhunt” released earlier this year—she, like Destiny and Martin have not been afforded nearly as many opportunities like their lighter-skinned counterparts.

Now this isn’t to negate the successes of fellow brown-skinned and darker-skinned actresses over 30 like Issa Rae, Keke Palmer, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o, Regina King, Gabrielle Union and others. But even when we consider them plus others like Aja Naomi King, Deborah Ayorinde, Danielle Brooks, Ashley Blaine Featherson, Antoinette Robertson, Gabrielle Dennis and Micahela Coel—we don’t see them nearly enough in comparison to those like Zazie Beetz, Tessa Thompson, Laura Harrier, Alexandra Shipp, Zoe Kravitz, Taylor Russel and Zoe Saldana. And that’s no shade at all, it’s just facts.

While the fix to this issue seems to be fairly simple—hiring more dark-skinned girls and women in nuanced and leading roles—I’m not sure what more it’ll take to get the Hollywood machine to wake up and realize how much of a disservice they have done and are continuing to do. It’s beyond time for the beauty in our culture—in all its hues—to be equally acknowledged, represented and celebrated onscreen.

11

Popular live streamer Valkyrae has labeled her experience with Jason Momoa on the set of A Minecraft Movie as the worst celebrity interaction she has ever witnessed. Valkyrae, who appears in a cameo role in the film, has revealed troubling allegations about Momoa’s conduct that have cast a somber tone over the film’s production.

During a recent discussion with fellow streamer JasonTheWeen, Valkyrae shared her dismay over Momoa’s alleged behavior on set. “How do I say this? So, Minecraft Movie. I have a cameo in the Minecraft Movie that’s coming out. So, I would have to say, Jason Momoa,” Valkyrae remarked.

According to Valkyrae, Momoa’s treatment of the crew was far from the professional demeanor one would expect. She described witnessing Momoa “yelling” at crew members after a particularly intense and emotional scene. “I just saw him mistreat some of the crew, and it was pretty disappointing,” Valkyrae said. She speculated that Momoa might have been influenced by his method of acting, but was nonetheless taken aback by his behavior.

The YouTuber explained, “He was really mad at them for not doing something right, like setting up the shot. He was angry, really mad, and yelling. I thought, ‘Man, this is not a good work environment. I would not be happy working under these conditions.’” Valkyrae’s disappointment reflects a broader sense of letdown, especially given the high expectations surrounding the film.

pic.twitter.com/IHC0TdNvKQ

— Cxpium (@copiumx) September 13, 2024

Directed by Jared Hess, A Minecraft Movie features an ensemble cast including Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. Despite the star-studded lineup, the film has faced its share of troubles. The first trailer for the movie was met with overwhelming negativity, receiving 1.5 million dislikes compared to just 660,000 likes on YouTube. This has only deepened concerns about the film’s potential success.

Scheduled for release on April 4, 2025, A Minecraft Movie now carries the weight of not only its rocky production but also the shadows cast by Valkyrae’s disheartening account of on-set dynamics. As anticipation builds, the film’s prospects seem increasingly overshadowed by the troubling revelations and the tepid reception to its promotional material.

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Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.  

Excerpted from “Vote With Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy,” by Bradley Tusk. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

In 2023, we marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and my father’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The anniversary was especially poignant at this critical moment when our democracy has reached an inflection point and so much of what my father fought for is being eroded.

Rights that Americans hold dear are under assault across the country. Reproductive rights, the ability to be our full selves and the very pillars of our democracy are growing weaker every single day. The crisis has grown so dire that my daughter enjoys fewer rights today than when she was born 15 years ago.

It is no accident that the erosion of our civil liberties has coincided with the rolling back of voting rights in states across the country. When my father marched for equality decades ago, he understood that voting rights were a necessary part of the struggle for freedom and equality. Those on the other side know it too, which is why they have systematically made it harder for every American to vote. Eligibility requirements, polling locations, and open hours at the polls have all been manipulated to keep too many Americans from being able to vote. In my home state of Georgia, they even made it a crime to give water to people standing in line to vote.

Our voting rights should be sacred, and any effort to suppress or retract the right to vote must be stopped. My father used to say that “oppression is being legislated.” It is change for the better that should be legislated, not oppression. Legislate change. Legislate hope. Not hate.

That is why my wife, Arndrea, and I are mobilizing to press for new federal voting-rights legislation to restore the right to vote not merely as an aspiration but a reality, and to guarantee that every eligible voter, regardless of race, nationality, or location, can access and cast their ballot knowing that it counts.

Elections

But we don’t need to wait on Congress to act. There are efforts across the country to expand access to the ballot, including the campaign for mobile voting. Few efforts hold the potential to impact voter participation like mobile voting. Far too many voters are left out of the voting booth by existing voting options — from our military service members to voters with disabilities and even our youth. Mobile voting would empower all voters to exercise their most fundamental democratic right using the same technology they use in their everyday lives. No more waiting in hours-long lines at the polls. No harried parents carrying tired toddlers. No young students trying to balance school, work, and life while finding a way to get to the polls. And no more threats or intimidation to keep certain voters from the polls.

Why wouldn’t we increase participation in elections to give everyone their chance to be heard? Why wouldn’t we ease barriers on low-income voters and help hourly workers? Why wouldn’t we eliminate barriers encountered by voters with disabilities who find it incredibly challenging to get to polling places on Election Day? Shouldn’t they have the same right to cast a ballot as everyone else?

Every vote lost to accessibility or suppression is a loss for democracy. Increasing access is essential and to evolve through technology is a sign of the times. We already live so much of our daily lives on our smartphones — from paying our bills to accessing health care. I’ve been doing my banking on my phone for years, and at no time did my money go where it was not supposed to. We know there are security risks inherent in mobile voting just as there are in other voting methods. But given how embedded mobile technology tools are in our daily lives, we also understand that risks can be mitigated. Surely the need to protect and expand access to our democracy mandates that we balance those risks and ensure every citizen can exercise their right to vote.

Every positive change is always hard-won. We at the Drum Major Institute like to say, “Don’t give up, don’t give out, don’t give in.” My dad used to say a voteless people is a powerless people. And one of the most important steps we can take is that short step to the ballot box. Vote with your heart and mind, but vote in the most accessible, available way possible. Democracy depends on it.

Martin Luther King III is a civil rights leader, Drum Major Institute chairman and former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

43

Canadian pop sensation Tate McRae has unveiled her latest single, “It’s ok I’m ok,” along with a captivating music video. The track, co-written and produced by Grammy-winning artist Ryan Tedder, marks a new chapter in McRae’s musical journey.

In the accompanying video, McRae showcases her undeniable charisma as she struts through city streets in skimpy attire, surrounded by a troupe of dancers. The video culminates in a dramatic scene where McRae is thrown up against a police car and arrested for being naked. While the nudity is strategically pixelated, the visual impact is undeniable.

The song itself is a confident anthem about moving on from a past relationship. McRae sings about feeling liberated and empowered, knowing that her ex is not as perfect as he seems. “Oh baby I been there/ And right in that same position/ So baby don’t get this twisted/ No, nothing could make me miss it/ Take him he’s yours,” she declares.

In a statement, McRae expressed her excitement about sharing the new single with her fans. “I’m so beyond excited to share ‘It’s ok I’m ok’ with the world and this new chapter of my music,” she said. “This song is a byproduct of reflecting back on past relationships to now and how much I’ve grown and learned from them. It’s a playful take on knowing your worth and the all-too-relatable feeling of never wanting someone back.”

“It’s ok I’m ok” is McRae’s first new music since the release of her acclaimed 2023 album, THINK LATER. The single is accompanied by a vibrant and energetic music video that is sure to captivate audiences.

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Michaela Mabinty DePrince, the trailblazing ballerina who exemplified rising above adversity with poise, grace, and tenacity, has taken her final bow. On September 13, representatives from DePrince’s team revealed in a statement posted to Instagram that she had died. She was 29 years old; a cause of death was not reported. 

“Rest in Power…With pain in our hearts, we share the loss of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose artistry touched countless hearts and whose spirit inspired many, leaving an indelible mark on the world of ballet and beyond,” the statement read. “Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength. Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts, and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. She stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places.” 

Born in Sierra Leone, DePrince lost both of her parents during the country’s civil war when she was three years old. Forced into an orphanage where she was reportedly neglected, abused and bullied, the ballerina said ballet saved her spirit during a period when she felt “helpless.”

“I felt like I didn’t have anything, to have a future or nothing to look forward to,” DePrince said in a 2023 interview. “Then, I found this magazine in the orphanage, and it was a picture of a ballerina. She looked so beautiful and so elegant. And I just wanted to find my own fairy tale.”

When she was ultimately adopted by Elaine and Charles DePrince of New Jersey, DePrince wasted no time showing her adopted mother the photo she had saved from that magazine. By age four, she was enrolled in ballet classes, and after years of training, DePrince eventually transcended the odds to become a professional ballerina. 

“There are moments where you feel like I’m not good enough. I had a lot of teachers saying, ‘Well, we don’t really believe in Black ballerinas’ or ‘We think you’re going to end up getting fat with big boobs and big thighs. You should just be a modern dancer.’ There’s a lot of people who didn’t believe in me,” she explained. “I knew I wanted to do this, and [that] this was my passion, and I had to make sure my passion would happen.”

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In addition to being one of few Black professional ballerinas, DePrince was a Black ballerina with vitiligo, a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes areas of the skin to lose pigment. 

“I remember my first show. I was terrified because I thought, OK, well, if people could see my spots… that meant I could not become the ballerina I wanted to be,” she told NBC News, explaining how her mother’s confirmation that her spots weren’t noticeable to the audience confirmed that she could be a professional ballerina. 

Inspired by her predecessors, including Lauren Anderson and Misty Copeland, the latter of whom included DePrince in her 2022 book “Black Ballerinas,” DePrince made history at 17 by becoming the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A year later, she joined the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, where she eventually became a soloist. In 2016, Beyoncé tapped DePrince for a solo performance to the song “Freedom” on her visual album “Lemonade.” Also landing appearances in British Vogue and Nike, she continued her ballet career in the United States at the Boston Ballet, which issued its own statement in the wake of her death. 

“We’re sending our love and support to the family of Michaela Mabinty DePrince at this time of loss,” the dance company wrote on Instagram. “We were so fortunate to know Mabinty; she was a beautiful person, a wonderful dancer, and she will be greatly missed by us all.” 

Beyond her captivating performances, Mabinty DePrince was a humanitarian. As ambassador for War Child Holland, the ballerina advocated for children affected by conflict and violence. She also hosted the Dare to Dream gala, which promoted the well-being and mental health of children living in war zones. 

Though her journey was cut short, DePrince’s story lives on through her memoir “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,” and her children’s book “Ballet Dreams.”  

34

Lil Wayne has finally addressed his fans after the disappointment of not being selected to perform at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, an event he had eagerly anticipated given its New Orleans setting and hometown. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Wayne opened up about the personal impact of the snub, expressing how deeply it hurt him.

The rapper admitted to feeling blindsided and emotionally wounded when it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the show. He revealed he had been looking forward to the performance for months and was devastated when the opportunity slipped away.

In his post, Wayne took a moment to express his gratitude to those who rallied around him during this tough time. “First of all, I wanna say forgive me for the delay. I wanna say, first of all, I had to get strength. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I wanna say thank you. I wanna say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all the love, and the support out there,” he wrote.

Wayne continued to reflect on his feelings, acknowledging the pain of not being selected and his struggle to mentally prepare for such a letdown. “Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back. That hurt, hurt a lot,” he shared. He took responsibility for his own expectations and emotional investment, noting that he had automatically placed himself in the position of performer and felt he was to blame for not being prepared for the disappointment.

Despite the setback, Wayne expressed deep appreciation for the support he received, emphasizing that it helped him through a challenging time. “It hurt a lot,” he said. “But y’all are amazing. It made me feel like st not getting this opportunity and when I felt like st, you guys reminded me that I ain’t s**t without y’all. That’s an amazing reality.”

Wayne also mentioned that he is moving forward and has other exciting projects on the horizon. His Lil’ WeezyAna Fest is set to return to New Orleans this November, promising fans a chance to see him perform in his home city.

In his closing remarks, Wayne reaffirmed his gratitude to his supporters, friends, and family, acknowledging their role in helping him navigate this period of disappointment. He ended on a hopeful note, expressing his determination to keep pushing forward.

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Every election season, the question comes up: why do Black voters traditionally support the Democratic Party? While some people raise the question with an agenda of pushing Black voters toward the Republican Party, it’s important to understand the key points in American history that led to the voting dynamics we see today.

After the Civil War, the Republican Party was known as the party of President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and effectively ended slavery in 1865. Due to President Lincoln’s role in emancipation, many Black Americans supported his party once they earned the right to vote, and remained loyal to Republicans in the years that followed. 

In the Civil War era, it was Southern Democrats who had a reputation for bitterness over losing to the North, open racism and voter suppression tactics like poll taxes. But there’s evidence that Black voter loyalty to Republicans began to waver during Reconstruction, an era when Black citizens experienced significant political and social gains, only to see their rights come under attack again.

In the early 1900s, W.E.B. Du Bois criticized the Republican Party for allowing Black Americans to lose voting rights on their watch, according to historian Blake Wilson. As more Black people moved North during the Great Migration, Democrats began gaining their support through the influence of labor unions. The shift became more pronounced in the 1930s during Herbert Hoover’s presidency, when the Republican “Lily White Movement” sought to recruit anti-Black members, pushing Black voters further away from the party.

The era of the 1930s was another turning point, as President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, a collection of social safety net programs, helped Black families recover from the Great Depression. However, a significant shift of Black voters leaving the Republican Party occurred in the 1960s when key Democrats like John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, played a role in supporting civil rights legislation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Fair Housing Act of 1968 were all passed during this time, and Democratic support for racial justice attracted even more Black voters.

This period of the 1960s also saw the rise of the Republican Party’s “Southern Strategy,” which capitalized on racial tensions to attract white Democratic voters who were angry about civil rights advancements. Republicans were successfully able to recruit disaffected Democrats to their party. 

Political scientists Dr. Ismail White and Dr. Chryl Laird, authors of “Steadfast Democrats,” argue that civil rights victories solidified the Democratic Party’s loyalty from Black voters. “It was only when the Democratic Party took up the mantle of civil rights in the mid to late 1960s that Black support for the Party coalesced into the reliable Democratic voting bloc we know today,” wrote Dr. White and Dr. Laird. 

They also note that “group solidarity politics” has been a key factor in Black voters’ loyalty, even though Black Americans are ideologically diverse. This solidarity is seen as a strategic move, using collective voting power to keep the Democratic Party responsive to their concerns. It doesn’t hurt that the party itself has racially diverse leadership, nominating the Black presidential nominee of a major party, Barack Obama; the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional party, Hakeem Jeffries; and now the first Black and Indian female presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In more recent years, Democratic policies such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) of 2010 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021 have had disproportionate positive impacts on Black Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Affordable Care Act resulted in a 40% decline in the uninsured rate for Black Americans. These legislative wins have helped to further cement the party’s relationship with Black voters.

However, Black Americans are not a monolith. A Pew Research study from 2019 estimated that 4 in 10 Black Democratic voters were ideologically moderate, with a smaller share being ideologically conservative.

When President Joe Biden and Donald Trump were presumptive candidates for president, multiple polls had shown modest upticks in support from certain segments of Black voters for Donald Trump, particularly among Black men. Trump’s gains with some Black voters have played out even as prominent Black conservatives like Tara Setmayer and Michael Steele have publicly distanced themselves from the Republican Party, criticizing the party’s direction under Donald Trump.

But since Vice President Kamala Harris has replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic party ticket, a new Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows that more Black American voters are saying they’re “absolutely certain” they will vote for Harris.

It reflects that it’s not just a political party that matters to Black voters, but that candidates always make a difference in terms of actual voter enthusiasm and turnout.

Ultimately, while debates about Black voters’ allegiance to the Democratic Party can be expected to continue (if anything they make for good media debates) history shows that a combination of civil rights advancements, social justice policies, and group solidarity has kept the Democratic Party’s edge with the majority of Black voters.

In just about two months, Election Day will reveal just how impactful that edge is.

Watch the full episode of Politics Explained with Natasha Alford breaking it all down, every Wednesday and Friday, on theGrio.

Natasha S. Alford is VP of Digital Content and a Senior Correspondent at theGrio. An award-winning journalist, filmmaker and TV personality, Alford is author of the book, “American Negra.” (HarperCollins, 2024) Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @natashasalford.

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