Both of these white actresses have displayed a special kind of allyship that shouldn’t be discounted, but the argument from Slate that “Black characters on animated shows should be played by Black people” is the kind of short-sighted, emotionally driven response that’s allowed animation, and specifically voice work, to remain one of the most racially segregated genres in Hollywood.
The real problem is that white voices are considered UNIVERSAL and are cast as everything, from bi-racial Black girls to robots, aliens, and talking dogs, while Black actors are LUCKY if they can get the few Black roles that are available.
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“Voiceover work is an incredibly hard industry to break into, and every time that a white actor voices a non-white character, it’s yet another opportunity not provided to a talented and qualified actor of color,” says April Reign, creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag who recently co-founded Ensemble Studios to create digital content opportunities for people of color.
You see, white voice actors and showrunners going full Scarlett Johansson and snatching up roles meant for Black and brown folks didn’t just become a problem.
Yes, Black roles should go to Black voice actors, but they should be considered for any other character roles, from talking rabbits to cyborgs and yes, white people, because it’s about time Hollywood realized that Black animated voices matter too.
