Dear Black Authors and Hollywood

It appears that slave movies always get it right when they hire dark skinned actresses — what about for book to film adaptations?

Dear Black Authors and Hollywood Producers and Directors,

Amandla Stenberg and Zendaya are not the only females in the world to choose from when it comes to selecting a Black girl/woman for a role. I notice that you get the skin tones right when it comes to slave movies. You tend to find the darkest African/African American girls and women then, but when it comes to phenomenal, successful fiction like The Hate You Give or Children of Blood and Bone — you insert biracial women.

The interesting nuance to this, is that you can find dark skinned men to play the roles from the stories.

To the Black/African Authors,

You create fantasies and science fiction that Black girls and women read and enjoy. We see ourselves in a gorgeous work such as Children of Blood and Bone. We understand when you write terms like “copper brown”, or “black skin”, or “ medium brown”. We understand because we see those rich hues every day in our homes. At work. At family gatherings.

You get the point.