Actor, musician, and Emmy Award winner Rome Flynn returns to his first love, music, with his soulful new single, “Heaven,” released in partnership with Platform Sounds.

Best known for his breakout roles on Godfather of Harlem, Chicago Fire, and How to Get Away with Murder, Flynn continues to prove his range. However, Flynn falls into a category like many other Black men fall into — Male Pretty Privilege.

“Pretty privilege” — the social advantage given to people who are deemed conventionally attractive — isn’t a concept solely reserved for women. In recent years, attention has turned toward how this dynamic plays out for men, particularly Black men navigating corporate, creative, and entrepreneurial spaces.

Black male pretty privilege refers to how physical attractiveness, confidence, and societal desirability can open doors — or at least crack them — in ways that others might not experience. From being perceived as more charismatic to being given the benefit of the doubt, attractive Black men may be viewed as more “marketable” or “approachable,” particularly in industries that rely heavily on optics, such as media, entertainment, and sales.

However, the privilege is double-edged. While attractive Black men may benefit from attention or leniency in some areas, research shows that racial bias still outweighs beauty.

According to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Social Psychology, attractive Black men were still more likely to be perceived as threatening compared to their white counterparts, even when dressed in professional attire.

The privilege also comes with hypervisibility. Black men who are conventionally attractive may be tokenized or expected to “perform” in ways that align with stereotypes — charming, confident, strong — but not necessarily intellectual or strategic. This can hinder upward mobility and lead to pigeonholing in roles based on appearance rather than capability.

Moreover, a 2023 McKinsey report found that Black men hold less than 4% of executive leadership positions in corporate America, highlighting how surface-level privilege rarely translates into structural power.

In short, while pretty privilege may open some doors for Black men, it doesn’t shield them from systemic barriers. The goal should be creating equitable work environments where all Black men, regardless of looks — are valued for their talent, not just their image.

So if you feel a little off lately—uninspired, restless, too big for the room—it may be time to move. Not because the room was wrong, but because you’ve simply outgrown it.

And that’s not failure. That’s the business of becoming.

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