You know what?  Here’s a great response to that that my friend KrisRix already wrote up, because I don’t know all the details about the project, just that I’ve been interested in this thing for a while because of the sets I saw on Tumblr.  To me, it looks like it could be something great.  I’m not saying that the show is going to be perfect, but I would like to at least be able to see it before assuming the worst. The post I’m linking above addresses concerns and how the staff has responded to them.

I’m not expecting Urbance to be the end all be all PoC LGBT animation project of the century and there’s always room for improvement and growth, but that’s not going to happen if we’re like, “Nope,” before the thing even gets out the gate.  I feel like people are wanting them to represent EVERYTHING OUT THERE.  That’s a tall task and, from what I’ve seen in Kris’ post, they’re trying, and the first step is to try.  People snapping at them is the reason why more people aren’t going out there and trying to make diverse characters.  They’re scared to be different because they’re worried about doing it wrong and the backlash from it. Does there need to be more diversity in our media?  Of course.  Is that going to happen if you assume something is going to be bad right off the bat?  No.  

I’m not seeing the “gross” from a project where most of the cast is dark skinned and cool looking. If its some future world where people are dark skinned, then it’s a future world where people are dark skinned.  I can’t really think of too many animation series that do that.  They could’ve easily made all of the characters white if it were just about a future society, they didn’t have to animate it the way they are.    

In most of the things I watch/read maybe one or two characters would have dark skin, but a predominantly dark skinned cast?  Ha, not a chance.   And honestly comments like this one is why.  I still remember the backlash of “Princess and the Frog” because “she was a frog for most of the movie” and “why does the black princess have to be the hardworking one” and that attitude is why people do the norm.  The norm isn’t judged as harshly.  We cry out for diversity but when it starts to happen we jump down their throats, so why even bother if the response is “this is all wrong.”  Why try and be different at all?  It’s safer to do what’s been done a thousand times, so forgive me for being excited over something that looks like it’s trying to step outside the box. Trust me, I’ll properly crucify it if it comes out and it’s garbage, but for now, they haven’t warranted that kind of response from me.