It seems clear to me from the writings of historians as well as the paintings and sculptures of the Egyptians themselves, that there were people of differing skin tones within their great and mighty civilisation. There were people with black, brown, tan and pale skin. Some of the Pharaohs were depicted as Black with curly hair (Tutankhamun for example was almost certainly what we would call Black today), some of the Egyptians were depicted with tan skin and looked more Middle Eastern (Nerfertiti for example) and some (like the Ptolemies) with paler skin. Why is it controversial to say this?

The Romans themselves also weren't all white. Check out this brilliant article that reconstructs what Roman Emperors looked like based on contemporary descriptions and some of them have dark skin and would be at the very least considered mixed race if not Black today (such as Septimus Severus and Macrinus who both came from Northern Africa and had dark skin). Even Marcus Aurelius wouldn't have been considered "white" today.

https://voshart.medium.com/appearance-of-the-principate-pt-iii-c6f156abb592