TEXAS – The voice acting community of Hollywood took note of the modern day civil rights movement last year as police violence against unarmed Black Americans caused protests across the country.

Dozens of white voice actors cast as Black or brown characters in animated television shows began to step down from their roles, clearing the way for Black voice actors who've historically been overlooked. 

In the anime community, particularly the Dallas-based company Funimation, those conversations have been ongoing. Those talks are why Black voice actors like Lee George get their opportunity to shine.

"A number of directors at Funimation realized the casting pool was a bit homogenized," George said. "They're doing what they can to not just cast Black voice actors, but doing what they can to put them into roles that would give them some spotlight."

George has voiced characters for Funimation for two years. He credits director Caitlyn Glass for his opportunity, as she and a number of Funimation directors pushed to find more actors of color in the Dallas acting community. He's worked on shows like Appare-Ranman, Smile Down the Runway, My Hero Academia, Free! and Listeners. As a lifelong anime fan, the opportunity is a dream come true for George. 

"I didn't believe it was real for the longest time," George said. "It's been two and a half years and I'm still like, 'They'll figure it out and they'll switch it up, I'm not concerned, it'll be alright.'"

That increase in representation has led to more robust discussion over the direction of characters of color. George said conversations over the way a character should sound are easier when there are more people that look like him in the room.

"How do you have that conversation about what a character sounds like if they do have Black characteristics?" he said. "How do you say, ‘I think this character speaks with African American Vernacular English (AAVE)?' What characters can Black voice actors voice even, if they aren't Black presenting characters? It's a complicated new, but I think important conversation that's happening within the community." 

George and other Black voice actors at Funimation are breaking barriers for the next generation. For him, the work doesn't just give Black anime fans a new actor to follow and relate to, it also paves the way for future Black voice actors to follow in his footsteps.

"Anime and the Black community has been intertwined as long as I've been alive," he said. "It's nice to know that young aspiring voice actors or just young anime fans can see someone that looks like them or sounds like them or a relative of theirs do the thing that they love."