Black people have always accepted mixed-race people as part of their community. With Obama, I think white people needed to be OK with voting for him. They needed to feel that he would look out for them. One way to do that was to emphasize the white part of his identity … With Meghan Markle, people want to correct the cognitive dissonance where [in their minds] black women aren't princesses or duchesses. If she's half-white, then that's closer to the reality that makes sense. There's a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the idea of a black person in such a position. It's a way to set the world back right for them [by focusing on her white heritage].