It's no secret to the Black community that there are issues between light skinned folks, and darker skinned folks and everyone in between.
This is something I've had a rude awakening to for...well, my entire life.
As a child I really never understood why I would be so disrespected and constantly harassed and abused by other Black girls. There were days that I would pretend to be sick or avoid going to school for as long as possible because the teasing would get so bad. Through high school and college the situation has not improved much, but that is partially do to my personal experience of rejection from the greater African-American community, and fear to even attempt entering into it again.
As a people, this attitude must change. We are all striving towards similar things and pushing for continued civil rights, yet we discriminate constantly within our own community. We have witnessed biracial president Barack Obama's election as a huge moment in our history, accept him into our community, yet are quick to reject a sister or brother because they are "too dark" or "too light" skinned.
I am very light in complexion, but both parents and sets of grandparents are African-American. My family ranges in complexion from deep, rich chocolate, to coffee with cream to very light. One of my uncles is even lighter than me and has blue eyes and red hair, and one can only imagine the struggles he went through growing up in the civil rights era.
I have privilege because of my skin color. I have never rejected this, because there is no point in rejecting it. America values lighter skin over darker skin; this has been proven in a myriad number of statistics and data. But what I challenge us to think about is the fact that we all come from similar ancestry. I have had to contemplate the painful history of enslavement and rape and cruelty that most of us have. I have the same frustrations with encountering racism and folks that don't understand what it is like to be the only student of color in my classes.
We should all be united by similar struggles, not standing divided because of our skin colors.
Start confronting someone with their assumptions about how dark-skinned Black people are "too mean" or "too dark" and likewise about how light-skinned people are "stuck up" and "get everything they want."
I am not a "stuck up" Black woman - I fully acknowledge the opportunities I have because of both the way I look and my social class. But I cannot change my skin color, and neither can any of us.
How can we confront racism in a broader context when such a huge problem and animosity exists in our community?
Well spoke!
ReplyDeleteConstance