[Serious and long post] Freljord Taliyah with paler skin and Color Diversity

Introduction Hey, recently a discussion came up on the PBE Boards about Freljord Taliyah having paler skin than her base skin. A discussion which also came up when Lucian came out with his Hired gun skin. This discussion moved me to tackle a topic once again, last time i did wasn't really good though. That is why i will explain why i think what i think, how i interpretated stuff and will also include sources. I really had to put my unbiased serious pants on and research terms and definitions before writing this post. Please feel free to correct me if im wrong and add constructive points to the discussion.

The current roster consists of 130 Champions soon the number will rise to 131 with the release of Taliyah. Looking at the picture below, we can clearly see a lot of colors which indicates a very diverse roster of champions in my eyes and ultimately what Riot wants. A game with a lot of diverse characters to play, so that everyone can relate to one champion or the other and feel comfortable playing the game.

http://i.imgur.com/Zx9MsrQ.png

Main Part

First of all, i think this is a sensitive topic and understand why people dont like talking about it, that is why i tried to be as careful and reasonable as possible. Speak your mind if you don't agree with something, don't be afraid to say how you feel about it, regardless of your ethnic group. Now then, let's start.

To begin with, the term "People/Person of Color" let me quote: "... is an effective way to describe non-white people in the United States. One can correctly argue that “white” people are people of color, or that some Latinos are white; however, unless the goal is to endlessly argue semantics, it’s more useful to use a common phrase to describe people who are commonly thought of as not being white by the white majority in this country." Source: http://www.diversityinc.com/ask-the-white-guy/is-people-of-color-offensive/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_color

I would like to add that it's arguably natural that whites are the majority in the USA, just how blacks are the majority in Africa and Asians in Asia. Despite that, i consider the USA to be one of the most diverse countries in the world. I hope it's okay that i use the USA as an example since LoL is an american game.

First off the champions which seem to be "white".

http://i.imgur.com/X5JR02d.png

I based most of my decisions to classify these champions as white, based on observation and the League of Legends wikia. The notes are a sign of being unable to classify them on first sight, so i had to research, think about it first and then decide whether they are or aren't white. Source: http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/League_of_Legends_Wiki

Secondly the Champions which could be seen as PoC's.

http://i.imgur.com/podYyeO.png

Keep in mind that PoC's is a rather general term for non-whites as described above. Don't be afraid to veto or correct me.

_Thirdly a bunch of champions i would call "Wildcards" in that regard, they are up to the interpretation of the player. Their base skins/canon-appearance is mostly non-human or shrouded. But their skins sometimes or often gives them a relatable and human appearance. _

http://i.imgur.com/seuhVWU.png

Varus Source: http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Varus/SkinsTrivia

_At last there are the non-human champions, these guys and gals are the most diverse bunch, hands down. They also include some of the "Odd/Special Cases" or "Wildcards" but i put them here because i rather see them as mainly non-human. _ http://i.imgur.com/VJbZEAF.png

**Conclusion (and tl;dr regarding the Taliyah case) ** Taliyah is a PoC and is getting a skin where she gets paler skin. Pantheon is white and has Myrmidon Pantheon. Varus appears to have a slightly tan/light brown skin in his Arclight theme and fair-skin in his Heartseeker theme. That said, Taliyah is not the only case where the skin color of a champion is being changed, in order to fit the theme.

Please bare with me im not a native speaker. Thank you for your time.