Because the school of "Do as I say, not as I do" has ruled the day for the last 8.
My wife pointed out, if after a stupid movie some young people actually believed Abraham Lincoln fought vampires, you just know that they will now swear up and down that Hamilton was black.
This post was edited by Crow at November 21, 2016 6:53 AM MST
When I was a kid, I revered actor Anthony Quinn* for his roles portraying various men of different nationalities and/or ethnicities than his own, such as Greek, Filipino, Arab, Chinese, Italian, Sicilian, French, Eskimo, among others. My admiration for his body of work diminished greatly after a Native American actor gave an interview about the lack of good roles for he and other Native American men and women, especially any roles that portrayed positive images of their people. He said that he had auditioned for the role of Geronimo, the real-life Apache leader, in a 1962 movie production of the same name. In the interview, the Native American actor recounted his frustration at being denied the role because the producers determined that he was "not 'Indian enough'." Additionally, no other Native American actor was 'Indian enough' either, and the role went to Caucasian actor Chuck Connors instead. Connors wore heavy greasepaint and a wig to make him 'Indian enough', a practice that had been used by Hollywood for decades when Caucasian men and women portrayed Native Americans. Furthermore, Connors delivered his lines in broken English, a tried-and-untrue Hollywood tactic that may or may not have been historically accurate, but had an offensive nature to it in the ears of Native Americans. In concluding the interview, the Native American actor commented on the unfairness of a fairly well-to-do Caucasian actor getting a choice role placing a historical Native American figure, while Native American actors went unemployed, and were denied the opportunity to uplift their race that the role offered.
Since then, I have been cognizant of the deeper ramifications of the ethnicity of people who portray various roles that do not match their own. I am not saying who should or shouldn't play which role, I am only saying I think of who gets shut out when it happens.
*His real name was Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca, he was born in Mexico and raised in the United States (b. April 21, 1915 – d. June 3, 2001).
I recently saw an interview with actress Rita Moreno, who similarly benefited from playing a variety of "ethnic" roles during her career.
Of course, Moreno's career contains a signficant irony. In the film West Side Story, the lead woman character Maria is supposed to be a Peurto Rican immigrant. Was Moreno (an actual Puerto Rican immigrant) cast for the role? Of course not! Born-in-San-Francisco-to-Russian-immigrant-parents Natalie Wood played Maria, while Moreno was relegated to the secondary character Anita.
That depends upon what your definitions of "black" and "white" are. If you mean in terms of geneaology, then it is true President Obama is roughly of half-European, half-African descent.
If you are referring to President Obama's physical appearance, I think very few people would call him "white."