There is no consensus among scholars regarding Cleopatra’s ethnicity. Did she have Greek (Ptolemaic) ancestors? Yes. Was she pure, unadulterated Greek? Probably not. Do we have reliable, contemporary descriptions of her physical appearance? No. All we know for sure is that she was considered beautiful. Do we understand exactly how the ancient world delineated races? No. Was the National Geographic article speculative? Yes. Will we ever know for certain what she looked like? No. Barring the invention of a time machine, that knowledge is as lost as Alexandria’s library.
Archaeology is littered with the corpses of long-held sureties that were later proved incorrect. Whether or not Cleopatra was black is besides the point. The point is that she could have been, and if that offends you, you’re a bigot who should read a book or four.
