We are there as eye-rolling, ambiguous sidekicks. It sends a clear message that we, as a society, believe the lie that has been fed to us. A lot of Black female actors hired for certain roles, as one of my agents said, look “interchangeable” so that if you put their features on a white actress, there would be no indication that they are Black. They have to be the perfect shade of Black; not too dark to be considered ugly, but not too light that you can’t tell that they are Black. I’ve heard these comments throughout my entire career.
