Recently, I was taken back when I
heard a young black female speaking
about her skin color. When told
that she was black just like her pupils
around her, she responded with an
appalled look, accompanied by this
statement: "No. I'm not black. I'm
brown. There's a difference."
Now, I know that in the past there
has been a preference for lighter skin
as a result of racism, but why does
this issue still exist when we are well
into the 21st century? Perhaps the
more important question I should ask
is why do we allow this to divide our
race as much as it does?
I am still quite baffled at how racial
issues amongst the black community
are still such an issue. You would
think that we would be at a point
now where we wouldn't still be
walking around with hatred in our
hearts for each other because of skin
color, especially as we consistently
acknowledge ourselves as "the black
community." However, we all know
that more of us than we would like
to admit have passed judgment or
cast stereotypes on other African-
Americans because of their "shade
of brown" and the accompanying attitudes
or personality types that come
along with it.
By way of Twitter, everyone seems
to be ready to represent what teams
they are a part of. It's common to see
people saying they are members of
"TeamGemini," "TeamIndependent"
or "TeamLongHair." I was completely
floored, however, when I began to see
people I know begin to tweet about
being "TeamLightSkin" or "Team-
DarkSkin." To make matters worse,
a lot of those people even went on to
list reasons as to why one color was
better than the other. Come on now
people, really? I can't help but think
that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Brother Malcolm X must be rolling
over in their graves at the mere
thought of this!
I'm nowhere near being lightskinned;
I guess I could say that I am
a "medium brown?" I don't know. It
sounds crazy even saying that because
I guess medium brown is the
only shade of the African-American
rainbow that doesn't catch the flack
of being too dark or too light. If you
are too light, some people (ignorant
people) immediately think you are
stuck on yourself, you are overconfident,
cocky and you will use your
skin color to your advantage, and
you will be allowed to get away with
it. People will accuse you of getting
more privileges because of your skin
color and many will dislike you from
the moment you walk through the
door. If you are too dark, some people
(ignorant people) immediately think
your attitude will reach the room before
you do. They will think you are
mean and spiteful and that, regardless
of the situation, you won't agree
because you are confrontational and
always hard to get along with.
Where do these ideas come from?
Some will say slavery (I agree).
Some will say personal experiences
(I agree). Some will say ignorance,
and yes I definitely have to agree
with that. Personally, I feel that we
can take this theory way back to the
"house slave mentality." All throughout
our grade-school education,
many of us were taught that slaves
with fairer skin were treated better,
and while they still were subject to
many abuses and cruel treatments,
they were still more valued because
of their skin color. As time has passed
on, I feel that we as black people have
somehow been taught to value lighter
skin. I think this is still an ongoing
issue and if we're being honest,
society still has not lost that ideology
altogether.
Clearly you could make the connection
between the preference for
lighter skin and the past, but the
deeper question, the question that
needs much more observation, is the
why. Why does the black community
self-select? Is this preference a dormant
trait, is it something psychological
or is it just that light skin is all
we see in the media and that affects
our choices and inclinations? These
are the questions that beg, but never
seem to be answered. Regardless of
what the answers to those questions
may be, there is one thing I am sure
of and that is this: We have to do better-
all of us.