One of the problems is a lot of white people can’t imagine that there is actually a systemic problem with race in this country. They think any racism black people experience is entirely based on feelings. So naturally, whenever someone with a different skin tone makes them feel bad, it must be racism, too.

Thank you for your clarification. I just woke up to see this comment thread...I just want to be clear that while I wrote the original comment, I was not the person who wrote “how professional” in response (different user name). It was not even remotely my intention to distract from the point of the article. As a black…

And yet these same people were weirdly *eyeroll* silent on the pale, white skinned/light green eyed girl playing the main character with described as having “black hair, grey eyes and olive skin.”

Excellent article. One thing though, Rue was not described as blue eyed and blond haired in The Hunger Games. She was described as reminding Katniss almost exactly of her younger, blue eyed blonde sister, EXCEPT for her “dark brown skin and eyes”. Katniss also innnocently says her dark hair resembles moss. So she’s…

“while the fictional world of Wakanda gave us a glimpse at what black civilization might have been like without European colonization”

LOL 

Thank you! I was wondering if I missed something, because in the book I read I recall Rue’s district being described as farms with dark skinned workers. Why shouldn’t Panem be as racially segregated as America?

WAIT. Rue was NEVER blonde haired or blue eyed in the books or movie. She was specifically described as darker skinned. But because she was always described as “innocent” and “fragile” people nixed the physical description and envisioned a blonde haired, blue eyed white girl.

Rue was never blond and blue-eyed anywhere but in the heads of white readers who ignored the fact that she was described as dark-skinned in the books. That was what made that whole dust-up even more outrageous, that her character was clearly described as black in the books and they were still offended.