Here's Why a Black Actor's New Role Is Causing a Big Debate About Skin ColorChadwick Boseman, the same actor who played Jackie Robinson and James Brown will be playing another black American icon: Justice Thurgood Marshall.
However, his latest role is causing some controversy.
Boseman is a darker black man, but the famous attorney and Justice was very light-skinned.
Why would Boseman's skin color matter?
The distinction is important because of colorism, or the privilege lighter-skinned black people receive within their own community and in broader society compared with darker-skinned black people.
The phenomenon has ties to the legacy of trans-Atlantic slavery, and colorism also pervades other non-white societies around the globe, often stemming from a history of colonialism.
In an interview with late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Boseman said he initially didn't want to play Thurgood because he was light-skinned.
"I didn't want to do it at first because Thurgood Marshall is a lot lighter than me. I don't look like him in terms of complexion," Boseman said in the interview posted to Youtube on Wednesday.
"Once I read it, I realized that really wasn't important. You know, each movie you do about a real person, it's a painting and you choose certain things in the painting you want to pull out and you want to show, so for this one it was the spirit of the man."
This isn't the first time that the casting of a historical black figure has prompted a debate about colorism.
Zoe Saldana, a light-skinned actor, received huge backlash for her portrayal of music icon and civil rights activist Nina Simone, who was dark-skinned and often spoke about it. In the film Saldana's skin was darkened and she wore a prosthetic nose. Some people tweeted that Boseman's portrayal is much more acceptable because he doesn't wear a prosthetic or "blackface" makeup.
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