Your eyes are green, but you ain’t white, your hair is straight because you pressed it last night. (School Daze, Spike Lee)
Buenas noches Brooklyn, happy Friday! This evening I watched Spike Lee’s 1988 film School Daze, for the 3rd time within the last month. And I must admit that I am quite intrigued by the issue of colorism; particularly the role that it has played in my life and the African-American community, at large. For the past few hours, I’ve thought about it quite intently, and would like to leave you with some food for thought.
According to my father I was only in the second grade when I came home from school one day and revealed to him that “I wish I were light-skinned.” Now of course this didn’t mean that I wanted to be white. However, it did mean that I wished I could trade in my dark brown skin for a lighter, brighter complexion, which often included hazel eyes and ‘pretty hair.’ As a seven year-old, I wanted to be a 'light-skinned black girl.'
Although, I don’t have any recollection of this particular incident, my story is a story that African-American girls and women with darker complexions know all too well. Unfortunately, we still live in a society, where the standard of beauty is measured on a European scale. The closer you are to white, the prettier you are. Just recently, I got into an argument with a light-skinned relative, who in a moment of intense anger, referred to me as “black and nappy-headed.” I also remember when a close friend of mine gave birth; she and her husband were concerned because the baby was of a darker complexion. As a matter of fact, the mother actually said, “I don’t want people to make fun of her because she is dark-skinned.” As much as we [black people] would like to believe that we have relinquished this outdated, warped way of thinking about our race; the elephant still sits in the room.
At the same token, there has been a reaffirming of blackness in the African-American community. More women have learned to embrace their natural hair and to be comfortable in their skin, regardless of its complexion.
Hopefully, this is a genuine step forward, not just a fad.
What are your thoughts?
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WOW!!! "A light-skinned relative, who in a moment of intense anger, referred to me as “black and nappy-headed.” AND "A close friend of mine gave birth; she and her husband were concerned because the baby was of a darker complexion. As a matter of fact, the mother actually said, “I don’t want people to make fun of her because she is dark-skinned.” The child just entered this world and the madness begins. Madness!
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