Colourism

This is a topic which is happening in today's generation and has been for many generations previous however we have chosen to turn a blind eye towards it. 

'Dark skinned vs Light skinned'

That's how it's commonly known in our generation of today. Back when our ancestors were slaves it was the mixed race children of the black women, their fathers being the slave masters, who were favored over the black children. They were seen to be prettier and not as dirty as the fellow black folk hence meaning they didn't have to slave for hours in the field, they were able to do more menial tasks within the slave masters' house purely because of the colour of their skin. Today, many people like to believe that we have become a reformed society which embraces everyone of colour and condemns racism however the truth is that the heart of this colour hatred towards black people comes from the black people themselves. They have been indoctrinated for generation after generation that the fairer the colour of your skin, the more well off you will be. This has lead to a segregation and divide between a group of people that should be seen as one. 

When I was a young girl I loved and embraced the skin I was in. I loved my hair and how versatile it was and was proud to call myself a young Caribbean girl. I was a very alert and aware and always noticed things around me. From a very young age I noticed how my fellow peers with lighter skin and longer, straighter hair than me were seen to be prettier. They were always complimented by parents and teachers with them paying no regard to myself. The thick, coily hair and the dark brown skin that I once embraced no longer became desirable. I yearned to have long, straight hair and lighter skin in order to me looked upon as much as my friends. Being the young, naive girl that I was, I told my mother my qualms with regards to my skin colour. My mother has always been a strong figure in my life that I've done nothing but look up to. She sat me down and told me:

"Kia, you are beautiful. Your skin, your hair, your personality, everything is beautiful. In this generation we have lost sight of the true meaning of beauty and have decided to judge it upon the colour of a persons skin rather than the person that they truly are. You are smart, funny and kind hearted and have the power to achieve everything that you want to in life. However, the unfortunate fact is that you are going to have to work twice as hard as your fellow fairer skinned peers. Opportunities will not be offered on a plate to you. Education will not be a breeze. You WILL have to work twice as hard to get to where you want to be. It's unfair I know but it's the society that we live in. Please do not see you skin as a misconstrued conception of 'ugliness', but as something you can use to your advantage. You don't see many black women CEOs or business owners and why do you think that is? Society has told them that that's not their place, they're not eligible to fulfill that role. I'm telling you that you are. You need to believe in your true ability and not let anyone hold you down on your way to the top. Kia, you are black and you are beautiful"

I was lucky to have such an amazing role model in my life who was there to constantly push me forward and never let me give up however that's not the case for everyone. There are many girls out there who believe that they are ugly with dark skin and therefore bleach to become lighter. There are many girls out there who believe that their natural, kinky, afro hair is too short and nasty and therefore require a weave to be seen as beautiful. The truth is that we are all beautiful. Mixed race or Black, we are all apart of the same society and share a common ancestry of pain, hardship and inequality. The equal rights movement for black people took the voices of strong black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks who fought for black people to have equal rights as white people. We do not tolerate racism from others so why are we so ready to dish it out to our fellow black peers? If we truly want racism to stop then we must first recognize this ingrained racism, which has taken many forms over the years, and put a stop to it. We cannot argue for equal rights if we place a divide between our own people. Black people ARE beautiful. The complexion of our skin takes many different tones which makes us so diverse, unique and amazing. It has come the time to acknowledge how beautiful our race is and use this to our advantage. You can achieve whatever you want in life if you rely on your true talents and abilities and not on the colour of your skin. It's time to cast a shadow on this separation between our kind and start our journey into a brighter, more accepting tomorrow.