Were days away from the release of Black Panther, and all I can think about is how emotionally unprepared I am for it . Common reasons for this include not having seen a movie with a black superhero lead in about 20 years (no, I am not counting Catwoman and Hancock) and the fact that my simultaneously Nigerian-American and black American self is not ready to have my complex experience validated on screen.

Another really big reason Black Panther is going to be an emotional roller coaster is the number of dark-skinned black women who were cast front and center for this film.

It doesnt seem like it would be a big deal, but it is, especially considering the uncomfortable relationship that we black people both here and abroad, even in the motherland have with the insidious force known as colorism .

Colorism is defined as the discrimination, bias or prejudice leveled against folks with darker skin tones. And that phenomenon usually occurs among folks of the same racial or ethnic background. Even brown-skinned people, who fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum from light-skinned and dark-skinned, are not spared from colorism.

This is why Black Panther is sort of an anomaly. Based on everything we know about colorism, who it affects, and what exactly feeds into it , we wouldnt expect that many (or really any) dark-skinned and brown-skinned actresses would appear in Black Panther.

And yet there are . And heres why it matters:

Black Panther goes out of its way to cast dark-skinned women in every single role that calls for a woman including the love interest.

Dark-skinned and brown-skinned black women are abundant in the movie. You can see it in the background characters, the promotional material and in the much-talked-about Dora Milaje an elite team of female bodyguards that defer to our good King TChalla, played by Chadwick Boseman. And every single significant speaking role has been cast with a dark-skinned or brown-skinned actress.

Theres Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri (TChallas sister), Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda (his mother/stepmother), Danai Gurira as Okoye (leader of the Dora Milaje), Florence Kasumba as an elite member of the Dora Milaje (and the scene stealer that personally accompanied TChalla to America in Captain America: Civil War), and Lupita Nyongo as super spy Nakia (also a member of the Dora Milaje and TChallas love interest).

Every single woman in TChallas life is either dark-skinned or brown-skinned: His sister. Momma. Bodyguards.