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The Rotunda
Tuesday, July 8, 2025

The Black Column: I'm Not Black ... I'm Brown!

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.

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