At least three minor characters are portrayed by black actors in the Harry Potter films. These three are Dean Thomas, Kingsley, and Angelina Johnson.
Dean was a somewhat major, yet kind of minor at the same time. He is mostly talked about in the fifth book and movie when he is dating Ginny Weasley.
Kingsley was a very active member of the Order of the Phoenix, and has helped defeat the Dark Lord on many occasions.
Angelina Johnson is a very good Quidditch player, and is a player on the Gryffindor team.
There are also two Indian girls in the series: Padma and Parvarti Patil. They are twins and are in Gryffindor house with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
The majority of the other characters are portrayed as white in the movies.
There are at least a few Harry Potter fans who do not think that having black or Indian actors in the films is acceptable. Why? Don't ask me because I don't understand. The books even said that these people were black and Indian, so why should it matter to them? If they had that big of a problem with it, why did they go see the film? They should have known it was coming.
Similar events of racism have happened in other movie adaptions of books. Take the Hunger Games for example. Fans were in an absolute uproar because Rue, Thresh, and Cinna were all to be played by black actors. While only some of these three characters were described as black in the books, I still don't believe that their race is that big of a deal.
One thing that I have been curious about for some time is a cast change in the middle of the series: Lavender Brown. In the first three or four books, Brown was portrayed as black. But as soon as she came to be a significant role, the actress was changed to a white young woman with long blonde hair. I can't help but wonder if this was a racial issue or a necessary change. I seriously doubt that this was a racial issue, but I still wonder. Tell me what you think in the comments!
Until next time Potterheads!
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