'We can't even play ourselves': Mixed-race actresses in the early twenty-first centur

At the turn of the twenty-first century, images of mixed race and racial ambiguity were in demand, mixed-race characters were becoming more common on screen, and racially mixed performers were being cast in roles across races. Mainstream media deemed mixed-race performers symbols of racial progress, yet their casting often exposed latent racism, and their characters reflected outdated racial politics. Increased fame, positive media attention, and more acting opportunities were available for mixed performers; however, they often played racially unmarked characters. The inclusion of mixed-race performers and characters based on their ability to be detached from specific racial identities---and appear as no race at all---revealed fractures in racial progressiveness.;Despite breaking racial boundaries for their casting, mixed black and white performers were often placed in roles where the dominant culture and mainstream society's discomfort with speaking frankly about race was replicated on screen. They regularly played characters coded as racially neutral, only partially formed, or based on antiquated stereotypes of tragic or deviant figures. Even in lead roles, mixed characters often lacked families or romances in order to keep race and interracial relationships out of the story. Casting mixed-race performers but coding them as white meant they occupied a white cultural frame at the expense of a black identity revealing white racial hierarchies and persisting racism.;During this era of purported racial progressiveness, actresses Rashida Jones, Thandie Newton, and Maya Rudolph achieved unprecedented success for mixed black female performers. Playing roles that spanned races and appealed to wide audiences, the three contributed to a complex reframing of black identity and pushed the boundaries of racial fluidity for mixed performers. However, when cast or coded as black or African, due to the limited onscreen opportunities for single-race African Americans, their casting revealed pervasive color-blind racism and colorism in Hollywood.