Black in Period Films

Zendaya and Anita Hemmings According to Deadine , Zendaya will be playing a white passing woman in a film called 'A White Lie'. The film is an adaptation of the Karin Tanabe novel, The Gilded Years. The novel is a thriller based on the true story of Anita Hemmings time passing as white at a prestige school at the turn of the century. Anita Florence Hemmings (born June 8, 1872 in Boston) became the first Black woman to graduate from Vassar College in 1897. She was only able to attend because no one knew she was Black. Interestingly, when the school found out there were not any real repercussions for Anita. She still participated in her graduation festivities and received her diploma without much trouble. I haven't read the novel so it might happen differently in the film. Lebanon Daily News, September 11, 1897 Source: Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News (public domain) Anita was an "exotic beauty" who saw all sorts of attention from Harvard and Y...