Matt James has been announced as the first Black Bachelor

It only took years of criticisms from contestants and viewers, a petition featuring thousands of signatures, and widespread protests and unrest in support of Black Lives Matter for ABC to cast its first Black Bachelor. Reality TV isn’t the area of media and entertainment that first comes to mind in connection to the word "progress," but it’s a start. On Friday morning, ABC announced Matt James as the first Black Bachelor. Finally.Prior to ABC's announcement of James as the new lead, the North Carolina native was already set to join Bachelor Nation as a contestant on the upcoming season of The Bachelorette starring Clare Crawley. Not since 2008 when UK native Matt Grant was cast as the first Bachelor outside of North America in Season 12 has a Bachelor been selected without previously starring on a season of The Bachelorette.ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke made the announcement Friday morning and touched on the historical significance of James’ addition to Bachelor Nation. “Matt has been on our radar since February, when producers first approached him to join Bachelor Nation, as part of Clare’s season. When filming couldn’t move forward as planned, we were given the benefit of time to get to know Matt and all agreed he would make a perfect Bachelor," said Burke. "We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we’re seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in and we are proudly in service to our audience. This is just the beginning and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise. We feel so privileged to have Matt as our first Black Bachelor and we cannot wait to embark on this journey with him.”[video_embed id='1974198']RELATED: 40 seasons. 18 years. 1 Black lead. Bachelor nation is calling for drastic change [/video_embed]Fans of Bachelor Nation are likely already familiar with James. The 28-year-old real estate broker and entrepreneur is best friends with Tyler Cameron, who starred on Season 15 of The Bachelorette. Cameron was chosen as the runner-up by Hannah Brown and the pair spent some time together in Cameron’s home state of Florida at the beginning of quarantine, where Cameron is also isolating with James and his "Quarantine Crew" (Hannah has since returned to her own home in Alabama). Cameron and James run the charity ABC Food Tours together, an organization that provides opportunities to children from low-income homes to explore their city through activities that focus on food, mental health and exercise.James and Cameron were also out at a Black Lives Matter protest together earlier this month in Miami. The pair both shared a picture of themselves holding signs at the event. “This is for everyone who isn’t given the ‘benefit of the doubt,’” wrote James in his caption.

 

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News of James’ addition to Bachelor Nation comes after increased pressure from fans and past contestants to select a Black man as the next Bachelor. In 18 years and 40 seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay remains not only the sole Black lead, but the only non-white lead in the franchises’ history.Since her 2017 season, which concluded in Lindsey meeting her now-husband Bryan Abasolo, Lindsay has spoken out about the franchise’s lack of diversity in its casting. In an interview earlier this month, Lindsay told AfterBuzz she would end her relationship with Bachelor Nation if a change was not made. “It’s been asked of me will I continue in this franchise if it continues this way. I can’t. I have to see some type of change,” said Lindsay. “It’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing. At this point it’s embarrassing to be affiliated with it.”Lindsay and Cameron were also two of many Bachelor alumni who signed and shared a petition on Change.Org earlier in the week, outlining steps ABC and fans need to take to create an inclusive and safe TV series. The petition had garnered more than 85,000 signatures as of publish time.James’ season of The Bachelor was previously scheduled to arrive at the beginning of 2021, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic puts its season as well as Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette in limbo. There is not much physical distancing in Bachelor Nation.[video_embed id='1976030']BEFORE YOU GO: ‘Paw Patrol’ is the latest cop show targeted by protests [/video_embed]