In 1990, 12% of the population was Black. [1] In California, they were 6-8% of the population. Today those numbers aren't very different. And in fact, Americans

In 1990, 12% of the population was Black. [1] In California, they were 6-8% of the population. Today those numbers aren't very different. And in fact, Americans have consistently overestimated the percentage of Black people in the US, in part due to media representations. [2] None of this means that Hollywood is/was not racist, but the problem of media representation is different from how it is usually presented. For example, Black actors have difficulty being cast as villains, because there's a longstanding fear in Hollywood about how that would look. [3] [1] https://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1991-02.pdf https://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1991-02.pdf [2] https://news.gallup.com/poll/4435/public-overestimates-us-black-hispanic-populations.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/4435/public-overestimates-us-bl... [3] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kumail-nanjiani-villains-interview-1235293379/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kumail-n...