Jesse Jackson is taking Hollywood to task for not being diverse enough. (Diverse in terms of skin color, that is. The lack of ideological diversity in Hollywood is not a concern of Jackson’s, I would assume.) Now, on a certain level, I sympathize with Jackson’s criticisms. As someone who has become bored by the fact that widely distributed films with political overtones invariably espouse a leftist worldview, I know that it can be frustrating when the industry ignores your market segment.

If certain segments are not being served, that reflects an inefficiency in the industry and presents a market opportunity for enterprising folks who can fill that void by delivering a different product. (In the film business, things are a bit trickier since there are a limited number of movie screens, owned by a small number of companies that typically only deal with major Hollywood distributors.)

So while I think Jackson may have a legitimate complaint about Hollywood in general, he does himself a disservice by relying on statistics that don’t show the problem he decries. One of Jackson’s “areas of concern,” according to Variety, is that “[c]asting of minority actors remains a problem.” Jackson cited “a UCLA study by Russell Robinson” that found “69 percent of Hollywood roles were reserved for white actors.”

First of all, were those roles actually reserved for or merely filled by white actors? If the former were true, then Jackson would be bringing lawsuits, not issuing press statements. (Or maybe not; such lawsuits would have to argue that racial set-asides are illegal and/or immoral—arguments that undermine affirmative action.)

Regardless, 69% of roles being filled by white actors isn’t damning statistic, considering that the most recent census statistics show that 69.4% of the country is classified as “non-Hispanic white.” According to the census and the study that Jackson cites, whites are ever-so-slightly underrepresented in Hollywood. That doesn’t exactly bolster Jackson’s argument.

If you’re going to engage in racial bean-counting, Jesse, at least pick a pile of beans worth complaining about.