Got Melanin?

he Colorism Chronicles

Parents See Eects of

Colorism in the Media
that I don't feel is acceptable for my daughter.
I can't say that I don't understand what my daughter
is feeling. Growing up, all of my friends only went after girls who were lightskinned and had "good hair".
It was like a status symbol of whose girlfriend was
lighter and therefore, prettier. But I never in a million
years thought that I would see my own daughter feel
the blows of such a colorist train of thought. Its extremely hurtful to know that she hasn't experienced
this because of boys, but from her peers.

Ask Crystal, Clear of

Colorism
Dear Crystal,
Recently, my 14 year-old daughter's behavior has
starting to change. We recently moved from a school
district that is very diverse to one that is predominantly white. She has always been very active and
loved outside activities like playing basketball, sotball and running with her brothers. She was the president of the Debate team and a member of the Track
team at her previous school but has no desire of getting involved at this new one. We also noticed a
change in her media preference. As a cultured family,
we love all kinds of music and television shows. My
daughter would rather watch TV shows that are popular with her new friends such as Keeping Up With the
Kardashians, Pretty Little Liars and Grey's Anatomy. Its
like she studies them as much as her schoolwork. She
hates her wardrobe and asks for a certain brand of
clothes. Many of the brands are out of our price
range; and she knows that. I got very worried when
she asked to comb out or cut her dreadlocks that
we've been growing since she had a full head of hair.
She told us, "my hair would be like so long. Longer
than so many other darkskinned girls or short like
Halle Berry!"
Ater a few months of observing, my wife and I decided to ask if she was comfortable with the move. She
let us know that she's been bullied since the first day

at her new school. She told us that all the other

Af r i ca n A m e r i ca n g i r l s a t h e r s c h o o l a re
"lightskinned", tall, skinny and have "good hair".
They've called her names like "tarbaby", "darky" and
sometimes when she walks by they call her "the
black cloud". My daughter's name translates to
"Beautiful and Strong" in Swahili and we raised her to
tell everyone who asks....the girls call her "Dark and
Ugly" (playing on the phrase "Dark and Lovely").
Needless to say, as a man and father, hearing the

Please help! My wife tries to help but a teenage girl's

relationship with their mother is already
complicated. My daughter sees her help as unwarranted criticism. One day, we caught her walking out
the house in her mother's foundation which is not
even close to her skin tone. Clearly, she was trying to
appear lighter to deflect the bullying. My daughter
doesn't look like Halle Berry and that's not who I
want her to look up to. I also don't want her to hide
from the sun and think this will eventually lighten her
skin. I definitely don't want her to take more permanent and harmful cosmetic measures.
Blessings and Good Fortune,
Dad in Damascus

Dear Dad in Damascus,

news was like a daggar to the heart. I am "darkskinned" and her mother is "brownskinned", but my
daughter took ater me. You see, I was raised in the
70's by parents who were very involved with the
Black Panther Party so I didn't ever have doubts
about my appearance. My parents required that my
brothers and I watch Roots, Shat and other African
American shows to boost our self esteem as men. But
as a man, I don't know how to help my daughter find
the beauty in her skin color or help her build her self
esteem. Especially, with the lack of new age productions with darkskinned, let alone, African American
women who aren't a sex symbol or treated in a way

Colorism is an issue that many people don't acknowledge until it directly eects them or their families.
Your daughter is experiencing backlash from peers
who have been taught culutrally that they are superior to her but of course, that is not the case. Colorism
has plagued the African American community for centuries and unfortunately, we still have leg work to do
before it can be cured across the board. These
lessons start at home so its impossible to change
your daughter's conditions at school without contacting the parents of the bullies. This may upset your
daughter because she will feel this will make her even
more popular but it has to be done. Speak with the
bullies' parents and peacefully let them know that
the attitudes and actions of their children are negatively aecting the well-being of your child. While
these infractions are verbal, bullying almost never
stays that way. So you need to express your direct
concern for the future of both your daughter and
their daughters.

The Colorism Chronicles

Got Melanin?
There are various approaches you can take to help
your daughter cope with the bullying and encourage
her at the same time. Her preference change in television shows could just be a means to try to fit in at her
new school. Taking into account that she's being bullied, she wants to familiarize herself with the things
that bing their group together so she can feel that she
is not dierent in other aspects of life. I suggest a
"family night" including you, your spouse and her
brothers. You should order food and sit down as a
family to eat dinner. Discuss your history as African
Americans by researching kingdoms and customs of
your African ancestors before the Middle Passage and
Slavery. Make sure you touch on all the issues you
want to be clear in her mind. For example, how slave
owners chose Africans as concubines and produced
mixed race children, the history of colorism and the
reason that lightskinned slaves were treated better
than darker skinned slaves. This is so your daughter
can understand that she isn't being bullied because
of the way she looks but because of a societal norm
that isn't openly discussed. Then, move to a movie
marathon. As you mentioned, your parents required
that you watch empowering television shows and
movies. This is a simple gesture but it is the reason
you grew up so secure and confident in yourself.
There's also nothing wrong with digging a few classics out of the attic. Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella with Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother is a great alternative.
Other options are The Wiz, the 2014 version of Annie,
Double Platinum, "Coy", Princess and the Frog and A
Dierent World. The Color Purple is a great choice for

the topic because of the turmoil that Celie endured

because she was looked at as "black and ugly". Make
sure you talk to your children about each movie when
they end. Use this movie night as a chance to educate
your children about their history and the fact that
they are beautiful by all standards. Lastly, there are a
plethora of self-esteem exercises that would benefit
your daughter. I think this is a job for Mom! One of my
favorite is "The Mirror Game". This game is very simple: stand your daughter in a full length mirror and
have her tell her mother 15 beautiful things about
herself. No matter how big or small, she should acknowledge all of them with kind words. Ater she's
done, do an exercise where her mother has her throw
insults and she is to deflect them with positive
thoughts about herself. This will teach your daughter
about disregarding negative remarks from others and
focus her attention on what she knows to true: SHE IS
BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY SHE IS!
Yours Truly, Crystal, Clear of Colorism

"Melanin is the pigment that gives human skin, hair

and eyes their color. Darkskinned people have more
melanin in their skin than lightskinned people have.
Melanin is produced by cells called melancytes."Dictionary.com

4 Struggles of being A
Dark Skinned African
American Woman
1.The word "Dusky" and "You're pretty for a
darkskinned girl."
Calling someone "dusky" is not a giving them a compliment. When you watched television, its not common to see dark skin characters. But the ones that
are on television are portrayed as sex symbols or
promiscuous. They are labeled as "hot" or "sexy" and
made to fill those roles because their skin is no longer
referred to as dark skin, but as "dusky". And unfortunately, the word has some degree of acceptance by
people because it is seen as "exotic". "Dark" doesn't.
For the people who use it, their objective is to say
soemthing nice about the person's dark skin. Though
some may appreciate their intent and understand
their lack of better words, dusky is a euphemism for
dark. Its a descriptive way to say, "I know you are
darkskinned but I still think you are beautiful." Which
is an extension of #1.
Being told you are pretty to be a darkskinned girl is
one of the lowest things anyone could say to someone. Not only are you insulting them but you are
telling them that they would have automatically been
ugly because of their dark skin otherwise. Or even
that a person is not attracted to darkskinned people
regularly but you are some type of exception. Every
person is entitled to their preferences but that
doesn't give them the right to shade someone else's
view of themselves because they have been conditioned to think this way.

2. Darkskinned Jokes
Jokes about dark skin are oensive because deep
down, some people with darkskin think that having
dark skin is a shortcoming. The jokes make it acceptable to mock a certain skin color and therefore devalue a certain identity. Jokes about dark skin contribute to oppression in many ways. They exploit how
dark skin is perceived by society and they permit the
perpetuation of how dark skin is perceived by society
and thus, hinder any change.
Also, there are also lightskinned jokes that are oensive and should not be told or laughed at! Even if one
were to tell a joke about fair skin, the intent and reason will not be the same behind telling a joke about
dark skin. In a colorist society, those jokes, if and
when told, have the undertones of a compliment.
Colorism is not humor. There are some darkskinned
people who joyfully take part in the delivery of the
joke. Their act of a "good sport" demands other darkskinned people to be like them, to learn from them,
to be as mature as them...to simply have a sense of
humor. But to me, its an act of dehumanizing a person and fooling yourself to believe it's just a joke.

3. People Being Scared of You

Finding a passable foundation color is another hardship that darkskinned women endure. The lack of
variety in make-up is an issue that has been talked about for decades.

In the media and in popular opinion, women with

dark skin are more likely to be finger-snappin', neckrolling and an embarrassing ghetto encounter. Darkskinned women have to deal with being discriminated against in the workplace, as consumers, in the
school systems and everyday life. It's not uncommon
to hear stories about women who were beat out of

The Colorism Chronicles

employment because they were going up against a

lightskinned woman. Or even a white person clinching up and getting uncomfortable when you enter a
room. Or watching everyone in a full class pick every
seat except the one beside you. Dark skin people are
not dangerous! They don't pose a threat to your life
just because they have darker skin.
In many institutions, students of color are made to
feel unwelcomed, alienated and marginalized as a result of direct or indirect words and actions from their
peers, teachers and administrators. Unless you attend an HBCU, its likely that you could be the only
person of color in a classroom or school. Indirect, latent, subtle, micro-aggressive discrimination or harrassment is oten invisible to others and diicult to
explain or "prove" because of the nuanced and subjective nature of such encounters. The burden is always on the student of color to prove that their experience was discriminatory or unfair. But for a person

Academy Award Nominee, Gabourey Sidibe, when asked if she is aected by backlash about her dark skin
online.

Connecting the Media

and Real Life
The media attempting to trivialize and
invalidate the experiences of darkskinned
people in society not only promotes light skin,
but shames dark skin. Denying that dark skin
is looked down upon by society and media is
hiding your own fair skin privilege. The reason
why colorism isn't taken seriously is because
it is not a race issue. The issue of race doesn't
garner much attention unless it turns violent.
It's easy to cite the media as the cause for
underexposure to the various cultures of
America. The media definitely plays a huge
role. But another factor is the lack of the right
kind of curiosity across the American

A valid point but why did the universe's meme

creators ruin The Lion King?
with dark skin, this is amplified because being a darkskinned African American is projected to be the
"worst kind".

4. "Can I Touch Your Hair?"

The discussion of "good hair" vs. "bad hair" is a feud
that's just as old as dark vs. light skin. "Good hair" is
considered as straight and flowy as possible. "Bad
hair" is coarse, "nappy" and hard to manage. But
with the new Natural Hair movement, African American women are taking back their identity and cutting
o or growing out their relaxed hair. Putting a relaxer
is your hair is a rite of passage that most African
American women know. But the goal of relaxing one's
hair is to seem less intimidating to white counterparts.Having natural hair is seen as rebelling just as it
was when it first made its splash in the 70s. You are
seen as militant if you have natural hair to those that
aren't educated enough to just see you for who you
are. Being asked if a person can touch your hair is degrading and makes African American women, across
the board, uncomfortable. It makes them feel like animals at a petting zoo and we are human beings. We
don't ask to touch a white person's hair, its not amazing to us that your hair is dierent to ours. So don't
be surprised if the woman says, "No".

population. In many cases, people don't pay

attention to colorism because it doesn't
directly aect them. In others, people don't
pay attention until it directly aects them in
the form of a family member or joke. The
colorism issue is worldwide, but in the US, its
become more of an epidemic because of the
historical and cultural ties connected to it.
There's an uproar about colorism in many
other countries. In my research, I've come
across many dierent blogs about colorism
from India, Haiti and Dominican Republic.
Actress Grace Gealey, from the new hit TV
show Empire, came to the US from the
Cayman Islands. She expressed in an
interview with The Huington Post: BLACK
VOICES that she did not classify herself as a
"lightskinned black woman" until she
received backlash on social media. She's been

The Colorism Chronicles

insulted because her character, Anika, on the

show apparently acts like the typical
lightskinned woman. Anika prided herself on
being raised a Debutante. Ironically, her
scripted parents were a successful white
doctor and a darkskinned mother who got
lucky while in college at a PWI. Even in African
American sitcoms, we see evidence of
colorism, racism and the eects of them
because these things represent conflicts in
everyday life for the African American
community. Gealey may not agree with being
lumped into the group of "lightskinned" but
she represents the stereotype of a
lightskinned woman perfectly.

Why does this image even exist?

very proud of background and I want my daughter
to grow up the same way. Both sides of my family
has the entire spectrum from deep brown to light
skin but it didn't dawn on me how much skin color
truly mattered until I was asked if I chose my fiance', Khiry, to have children with because he was
lightskinned. Classifying yourself in a group by
skin color is something that, unfortunately, can't
be avoided in our society. I classify as "brownskinned" with is the awkward middle ground between the two extremes. Before I cut my long hair,
people assumed I was only Hispanic and that offended me. Not only because I identify as African
American but also because the assumption is that
an African American woman with long, healthy
hair can't be only of African descent. During my interview, it was said by Royce Mayor that brownskinned woman aren't as insecure as darkskinned
women or as standoish as lightskinned woman
so he sees brownskinned women as a "happy
medium" to African American men. But what does
this mean to me as a parent? Everyone assumed
that my daughter would be lightskinned. But
many didn't comprehend the fact that Khiry came
from a darkskinned father and brownskinned
mother. Melanin is in every person's DNA and it is
your genes choice what amount will be reflected

the insults, pain and suering that are behind it.

But its touchy to me because my goal is to eliminate it. I've began writing a series of novels that I'd
like to inspire and promote critical thinking in the
parents of my target audience (which is youth ages
12-20). So many people think that changing the
minds of white people is the solution but that isn't
the case. We need to change our own minds to understand that we will only be made to feel inferior
if we continue to believe that we are indeed inferior. I want more for Khyanne's thoughts of herself.
My goddaughters, who are ten and six, are mulatto
and both already identify as lightskinned. I've
even heard them brag to their friends about their
"good hair" and diverse background. I'm a true believer that children are like sponges, they absorb
information from contact. The fact that girls as
young as ten and six are already displaying a sense
of superiority because of their skin color or mixed
heritage is fuel to my theory that something has to
be done about Colorism. Especially because of the
growing rate of interracial relationships and mixed
race children, the time passed 100 years ago to destroy this epidemic. This project gave me the opportunity to dig into my passion and get a more indepth explanation and understanding of Colorism.
But most importantly, it skyrocketed my hunger
for change and encouraged me to keep writing

Khyanne Miracle-McKinzy Bowling

How Colorism in the

Media Eects My Life
Letter from the Editor
As a young mother, there are many misconceptions that I battle on a day-to-day basis. Majority
of older mothers look at me and assume that I
don't have the same skills or seasoning in motherhood as they may have because I had a child earlier in life than they did. I turn 23 years old this August and I feel that as a young mother its important to encourage my daughter to do better than I
did growing up. I grew up in a home that was culturally prideful so I grew up with a strong belief in
myself as an African American woman. My father's
bloodline traces back to English royalty and my
mother's bloodline traces to a family of goat
herders in Ghana, even though my grandparents
came to Florida from the Dominican Republic. I'm

Thanksgiving 2014 (Pre-Haircut)

in your skin color. My daughter ended up "#TeamBrownSkin" so my goal is to shield her from society's opinions on skin color completely. I introduce
Khyanne to African American films and productions that promote security in one's self. My duty
as her mother is to teach her that she can reach
the stars if she dreams...regardless of her skin's
pigment. My goal is to never hear my daughter
claim to be brownskinned or any-skinned. I want
her to proclaim that she is a human, who happens
to be African American with a broad ancestry. The
subject of Colorism is touchy to some because of

Khyanne, Brooke and Bryanna

when I was at a point in my life where I was discouraged and put my dreams on hold.