I’ve seen this video all over Facebook for about the past week and a half. This post could easily turn into a dissertation, so for now, I’ll just stick with posting the video, inviting comments, and refraining from calling out my 1st grade teacher by name (and Facebook profile link), who made my life miserable for not just one year, but two (I was lucky enough to get her again for 3rd grade)!! And did I mention that she’s also dark-skinned? Self-hatred at its finest, ladies and gentlemen. Sad.
I just love the fact that this issue is so out in the open, exactly where it needs to be. It’s a tear-jerker, but so true. So sad.
This is SAD!! We have got to do better with our children. These idiotic stereotypes have been amongst us for years. The skin shade stereotypes r common among most people of color, Latinos, Asian, Indians,Native Americans etc. For Blacks it was relevant in the slavery era. The field or house duty…Masters children were lighter skinned!
Unfortunately, the negative reinforcements often come from people near & dear to us, parents, grands, cousins, friends etc…
It manifest as favoritism, careless teasing as well as hyped positive comments to "light-skinned folk.
It's almost like the affects of "quotas" (affirmative actions), the out-group hate the people shown favor and the in-group often hate being singled out for special treatment based on their color.
Can and will we stop letting society define beauty for us. Can we teach our kids that true beauty is from within? Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder.I get it. But self-love is a whole different issue!
Don't get me started on hair textures, what's good -vs- bad hair. Whew, I'll stop for now but this subject is near & dear to me. This issue is truly based on how we have socialized our children to feel inadequate and less than. They (kids) often go outside of their homes to find role models! This comes from no relationship with a lot of unknown/absentee fathers!
The affects of this type of stereotyping/self-hate is not new. This was proven back in the 60's with an experiment based on eye color! Sad & hurtful!
Unfortunately, I don't believe this movie will change anything in the Black community. I've had this conversation for decades and still nothing changes. I'm speaking mainly of black men, especially those we consider financially successful. It's worse than sad and I'm tired of fighting this battle. To all of my kindred Dark Girls: don't harbor bitterness – we must first LOVE ourselves and then, always show God's LOVE for others; even towards those who are still buried in self-hatred. Take heart, my sisters – agape LOVE is always the answer.