Rhimes’ production company, Shondaland, was behind the success of Netflix’s new drama, « Bridgerton, » featuring early nineteenth-century black and white members of high-end British society.
The series was created by model Chris Van Dawson and is based on Julia Quinn’s Regency novel. On the show, actress Golda Rocheville portrayed the true Queen of Britain as a black woman.
Many have long believed that the Queen, who was married to King George III and is an ancestor of the current Queen Elizabeth, had African ancestry based in part on her photos.
However, there are others who dispute this claim.
« Many historians believe she has an African background, » she said. « It’s a very moot point and we can’t DNA test it, so I don’t think there will ever be a final answer. »
Queen Charlotte is one of many throughout history whose ethnic identity has been discussed.
Here are a few others:
Ludwig van Beethoven
The writer mentioned that the theory was put forward in 1907 by British composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor, who was mixed and said that he saw similarities between his features and those of Beethoven.
It’s an idea Clark says has held up over the years and was picked up by black activists Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X.
« Was Beethoven black? The evidence is scanty and inconclusive, » wrote Clark.
The case is based on two possibilities: that Beethoven’s Flemish ancestors married Blackamore Spaniards of African descent, or that Beethoven’s mother had an affair. But the truth that Carmichael and Malcolm X sought was not scientific. The phrase “Beethoven was black” was a great metaphor. Designed to destabilize and destabilize certainty. «
Edgar Hoover
He was the first FBI director known for the work he did to undermine the civil rights movement and its leaders.
The story was quoted by Millie McGee, author of « Uncovered Secrets, J. Edgar Hoover – Passing to White? » An African American woman recalls being told she was related to Hoover when she was growing up in McComb, Mississippi.
McGee said her recent research found that they were indeed family.
« Because of Edgar’s anti-black history, I am not proud of this lineage, but history has to be based on the truth, » she said.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Was Jackie Kennedy the First Black First Lady?
This theory appears to stem from research into its ancestors.
The article notes, “When first lady Jackie Kennedy visited England in 1961, community photographer Cecil Beaton met her at a dinner party. He commented in his diary that she appeared to be a ‘negro’.
Some historians have also indicated that her father, Wall Street stockbroker John Verno Bouvier III, was called « blackjack, » which they attributed to his dark complexion.
Clark Gable
Gabel has been known as the tall, dark and handsome « King of Hollywood ».
There has always been talk of his having a black and Native American heritage, which no one has ever documented.
But he is best known for his early advocacy for the civil rights of African Americans.
« He looked at me and read the signs and cursed like a sailor, » Plott recalls.
Gabel, who was the star of the movie, went to the director and master of the property and demanded that the banners be removed or else hundreds of black additions would be launched into the set that day.
Ploet said the signs had been removed.
