That’s because she could (and did) pass for White. (Not that I blame her.)
Excellent points all; her genetics are not the same thing as her lived experiences.
No, she’s totally of African descent, biologically speaking… but that’s not the same as actually living the Black experience.
I say this as someone who had a relative on my mom’s side who was passing in the 1960’s, in Ohio… and when he was found out, he ended up murdered, ‘mysteriously.’ His murder was never solved.
I’d like to live in a society where none of our trivial differences matter… but I don’t ever expect to see it happen unless Xenomorphs invade or something equally horrific forces humanity to ‘get the fuck over it.’
That’s kind of an assumption; many Black folks would likely have accepted her (especially since she was successful) while some others would feel resentment because of her ability to pass, whether she was aware that she was doing so, or not.
That’s an issue that I’ve dealt with my whole life as an obviously biracial woman with pale skin and long, dark hair:
There are Black folks who just accept me as is, and that’s the end of the story.
There are Black folks who begrudgingly acknowledge my place in the community, but they are ‘funny-acting’ about it (making needless snide remarks, jokes that aren’t funny, and basic passive-aggressive bitchery.)
Then there are self-hating Black folks who actively resent my existence altogether; out of their own self-loathing for their dark skin and tightly coiled hair, they willingly perpetuate negative stereotypes about both light and dark complected Black folks.
And White folks in general; let alone in my biological family?
Forget about it; though they were never blunt or direct about it, was always clear to me that I was not “one of them,” and never would be.
And CC is actually sort of fortunate in that regard; she didn’t find out about her heritage until a little later in life, so she wasn’t ‘living in fear’ that whole time she was growing up.
I am truly grateful that I’ve never had to hide who and what I am*.
*Not that I could have anyway, though. Some of my features are very Afrocentric.
This is another Frawley flick worthy of mention. Kid Blue is a counter-culture-esque comedy western featuring Dennis Hopper as an outlaw who tries to go straight, with excellent work from hostile sheriff Ben Johnson, peyote inspired preacher Peter Boyle, and Greek obsessed Warren Oates. Despite what the video says not a children’s film.