What Dark-Skinned People Will Never Tell You

This is our youth talking to us now!

As a dark skinned black woman myself, I've seen and experienced a lot of the things discussed in the video. This is also one of the reasons for the coldness and attitudes exchanged among a lot of black men and women when they walk past one another that I have noticed. ESPECIALLY among dark-skinned men and women. We tear each other down the most. My mother happens to be light skinned, and so are my younger brothers and I'm the only one in my immediate family that is dark skinned, other than my father.

Growing up I was a quiet nerd girl who kept to myself and made A's and B's in all of my classes, I never hated my dark skin, but both dark-skinned and light skinned black girls (mostly light-skinned black girls) were the ones who ever felt the need to tear me down. Now that I'm older some of my former classmates who have made fun of me are now telling me how beautiful I am.

Even today, I just cringe whenever I hear someone refer to a dark skinned black woman as "pretty for a dark skinned girl" .. or I hear someone say "Yeah she's cute, blah blah blah, but she's dark skinned." I really feel like it's more prevalent in my generation because of social media and the music industry. Children see rap artists putting "redbones" on pedestals and demeaning black women (especially darker ones) and start thinking that's the norm and that's cool and that's how everyone thinks when it's NOT.

Sister Siebra Muhammad, I really appreciate your input to this blog. I have witness this phenomena in play all of my life to when we as a people would sing this song: Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud," back in 1968 Brother James Brown, if memory serves as part of the Civil Rights and our Black Awareness period.