Congratulations to Halle Berry- and her publicist, for her recent victory over Whitney, Janet and Vanessa in securing the role of Dorothy Dandridge.

I am pleased that Black actresses are interested in their predecessors, but why this obsession of Dandridge? I believe that it is being driven by a subconscious desire to portray the life of a Black woman who fits the physical standard of European beauty.

In other words, traditionally and consistently, the images of mulatto and light skinned Black women with Caucasian features dominate the big and small screens as well as print.

I feel confident in concluding that if Dandridge were several shades darker with wide facial features, no one would be interested in her legacy and certainly not to the point of developing a film based upon her life. Further, Black film makers are probably busy making plans for a film on the "life and times of Lena Horne," another "Black" woman who could pass as white. Finally, who will celebrate the legacies of Black female entertainers whose features are classically African: Ertha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughn and Betty Carter?