Colourism; Light skin vs Dark skin.
When I conceptualized having a writing section, Colourism popped into my head as the first topic I would address. It is an issue whose discussion is too often dismissed as a non-issue.
I for one, did not even believe that colourisim was an actual issue at first, growing up as neither super light or dark skinned in Eastern Africa, I have never been picked on for my skin tone, I actually only became aware that skin tone was an actual "thing" as a child when a rude ass kid (smh) felt the need to point out that I was a shade darker than everyone else in my family. I soon brushed this off as back at home this was never something that was even mentioned.This has been the only negative experience I have had in relation to my skin tone. Therefore I cannot, and will not, pretend to know what being bullied for being a certain skin tone would feel like.
As I got older I began to notice what seemed to be favoritism shown towards lighter girls and guys , as well as disdain towards those with darker skin . It is only when I began to delve into how being a black person affects how one moves through the world did I realize that this was an actual problem, a serious one at that. I began to notice the extent of the fetish towards "yellow bones" and even more disturbing how we demonize dark skinned people. Even more troubling was the effect that this was having;especially on black girls. Ive seen a number of lighter skinned girls speak of bullying by their darker skinned group of friends. I guess this is their way of getting back at them for having what they believed is a privilege that they do not have, lighter skin. That is what we have come to treat lighter skin as, a privilege.
I have also seen countless stories of dark skinned girls and guys describing the vitriol they endure due to their skin tone.So great is the abuse that some willingly put their health at risk in order to get just a few shades lighter.
The worship of light skin in black cultures world wide is alarming,but the hatred shown towards dark skin is simply scary. I could not figure out why there was so much disdain towards dark skin,but with a bit more research,I believe the answer lies within the origin of this light skin vs dark skin mess.
The Origin; the first instance of skin tone being a divisive factor among black people occurred during slavery.White slavers gave out tasks based on skin tone,Lighter slaves were forced to work in the Slavers house while darker slaves were forced to work the fields. This led to the birth of the misconception that we still see manifesting among blacks, even those hundreds of years & miles away; "Lighter is better". This lie serving as a tributary to the river that is the racist belief "white is right" and if white is right, the closer you are to being white, the better and the further you are,with dark skinned people being the furthest,the greater the resentment you face. It is this mentality that caused/causes the worship and contempt towards light and dark skin respectively. Years of this way of thinking seeped into every part of black culture,It is visible in the music videos & commercials we watch,magazine covers we see and the lyrics we hear,keeping this mindset alive.Of course this is not the only contributing factor to this mess,as the light vs dark "wars" are present in regions that are not immediately affected by slavery. But its role within black cultures everywhere cannot be understated.
The solution; This will only change once we as black people make a conscious effort to un-brainwash ourselves from this mindset.This can only be done by using the same means the mindset was perpetuated, advocating for, magazines,music videos (such as Bryson tiller's somethin tells me) and commercials that appreciate ALL skin tones that we as black people come in.We also should celebrate our darker skinned people more,as we have taken out our frustration on them. On those that remind us of our blackness the most,the darkest of us.The truth is this mindset can only be defeated when we embrace everything about being black.When we flood media channels with images and songs that convey the reality of black skin tones; that we come in equally beautiful shades and hues,ranging from the gorgeous yellow bones, to our stunning dark melanin kings and queens.Each shade contributing to the beautiful mosaic that is the black race.
