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After 13 Seasons Of 'The Bachelorette,' This Is A Surprising First

Rachel Lindsay from season 21 of "The Bachelor" will be the first black woman to star as "The Bachelorette."

By: Christian Bryant

Posted at 1:37 PM, Feb 14, 2017

and last updated 2017-02-14 13:37:00-05

For the first time in the show's 14-year history, ABC announced a black lead for "The Bachelorette" — and spoiled "The Bachelor" in the process.

Rachel Lindsay, an attorney from Texas, didn't find love on season 21 of "The Bachelor," but she'll get another chance while diversifying a show that's been notoriously bad at including diverse candidates.

Here's a quick glimpse of bachelors and bachelorettes. You'll notice there haven't been many minorities.

In 2011, "The Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss told Entertainment Weekly they'd tried to include nonwhite bachelors and bachelorettes but felt "guilty of tokenism."

The show faced a racial discrimination lawsuit in 2012. And more recently, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said the network's dating shows needed to "increase the pool of diverse candidates." We should note Dungey is ABC Entertainment's first black president.

Lindsay will be on the 13th season of "The Bachelorette" starting May 22.