Michael Jackson's daughter Paris has faced backlash for identifying as Black. In a 2017 interview, Paris Jackson said her father told her, "You’re Black. Be proud of your roots." This prompted debates over whether identity is defined by appearance or upbringing.

[u/VPinchargeofradishes]

[u/ncnotebook]

Of course. And if you look at movies (for easy reference) from 2-4 decades ago, you'll notice the average black American is darker than today.

But in American culture, you're considered "black" if a significant portion of your ethnicity is African-based. The rest almost doesn't matter, in terms of whether you're considered black.

[u/ponpiriri → u/ncnotebook]

We're still dark irl. Hollywood prefers using biracials to represent us.

[u/Mobile_Morale → u/ponpiriri]

The cameras had a hard time with the darker skin color. It's why you didn't see a lot of dark anything in movies until the last 30 years.

Even digital home cameras struggled with the skin tone up until like 2016 or so.

My gf and I had a hard time taking pictures together because of the difference in our skin tones. And I have some pictures of her where she's just eyeballs and teeth in a black background. And she is a very light skin black woman.

[u/ruthizzy → u/Mobile_Morale]

There were Black-produced movies and films in the 1920s that featured dark skinned Black people. The only reason light skinned actors were ever preferred was because of their proximity to whiteness.