Hi, my name is Lisa. And I am black. No, not the race. But black like the skin tone.
That’s how I envisioned attending one of those anonymous meetings like the ‘AA’ ones, but now for people, who, at one point in their lives, have felt not good enough in the color of their skin.
No, I am not saying that I have at one point in my life felt ashamed of my skin tone, but there have been times I have thought that if I was just a little lighter skin toned, I would have secured a specific deal or been at a better place.
But what’s wrong with my skin?
Black is beauty. Black don’t crack. Black is pride. But why do we, at times, feel inferior? Why do we want to change our skin tone? Just to fit into the light skin community?
I vividly remember a conversation I had with my dad when I was below 10 when I asked why lighter (than me) skinned people seemed to be ‘prettier’. Those were my words then (paraphrased). He, however, told me something of the contrary opinion and tried to make my little self, feel proud and beautiful in my skin. And that, I did.
However, as I have grown up, there have been numerous occasions where I have seen fair skin glorified over dark skin. For how long though, have we let ourselves have this idea about dark skin being inferior?
It’s time to let it go.
Look around you, there’s black happy skin everywhere!
Be dark-skinned. Be beautiful. Be proud.
See You Next Week!
