Lee Thomas: A Black Man Turning White

"Some people act like they don't even see it…Some people stop right in their tracks staring. But there was another time I walked into a room and saw a little girl, about two[years-old], and she looked at my face and screamed. I didn't leave the house for two weeks after that one...The look on her face, she was scared...And you know when a child's in danger or a child is fearful, you want to reach out and help them, right? But if reached out to help her, I was the one scaring her so I felt helpless. And because of that, I didn't know what to do. What do you do?"--Lee Thompson

At 25 years-old, the world has suddenly become your oyster. You are on the brink of getting that first big break in the broadcasting industry--a stint as an entertainment reporter on an ABC affiliate in New York City. Not bad at all...

...well...except for the fact that your barber has found some unusual white patches on your scalp. There's no need to become too alarmed, right? It doesn't seem like that big of a deal...but...you have also found some white spots on your hands...and now these damn spots just won't go away!

Vitiligo. This is the diagnosis Lee Thompson's doctor made upon observing this rapid loss in his skin's pigmentation. A progressive skin disorder in which pigment-producing cells begin to suddenly die, vitiligo sadly has no cure. So in essence, Thompson had just been told that he was an African American-man-turning-white and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it...

What was he going to do?!

He was a successful broadcaster on television, yes television, so his job depended on his appearance. But there was also the more significant implications of his impending whiteness. Previously concrete truths regarding race, identity, and in turn, his own sense of self were now horribly thrown out of whack. Was he still a Black man even though he was becoming white?

So Thompson did what most of us would do--he hid the vitiligo, both figuratively and literally, under a mask of creams and make-up. This was his reasoning:

I wear the make-up because it makes it easier…not just easier for me…but easier for other people to deal with me...News isn't about me, it's about the information.So I put the make-up on so they can hear me.

He kept his condition a secret for four whole years until the vitiligo became impossible to hide, spreading to his arms, hands, and even face. So Thompson knew he had to come clean.


Once he revealed the truth to his colleagues at Fox News Detroit, Thompson decided not just to stop there. He decided to speak about his experiences with vitiligo, ON-AIR, in which he appeared for the first time on camera without any make-up. This was a huge moment for him...

After receiving countless letters of support and encouragement regarding his story, Thompson was especially moved by the responses from children suffering from vitiligo. One little boy wrote a letter asking him to continue telling people about the disease so that the kids at school would stop making fun of him. From that moment on, Thompson became committed to the cause.


Not only has he started the first vitiligo support group in Michigan, Thompson wrote his memoir, Turning White, complete with several candid photos, in order to educate others on his disease. He is also using some of the proceeds from the book to fund his support group. And even though Thompson used to think that vitiligo threatened to take a part of him away, he now sees things very differently:

This thing is kind of like a superhero. If one thing is taken from you, then something else is given to you--some kind of strength. Since my pigment's losing, I must have some other something to make me strong…I didn't get super strength or speed or anything like that…but what I did get…is the power of speech.

What are your thoughts on Thompson's story?

Watch Turning White video documentary HERE.

Watch Lee Thomas interview on The Hour HERE.