How To Free Ourselves From This Troubling Artifact Of Slavery

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PushBlack
May 30, 2019

Colorism in the Black community - the influence of skin color on a person’s social standing - was born out of the sexual trauma and discrimination that our ancestors experienced during slavery. White slave owners would rape enslaved Black women, producing biracial offspring.

Slave masters would give lighter enslaved people special treatment over darker ones because of their forced “familial ties.” This caused tension between light and dark skinned Black people. The effects of this identity crisis went on for centuries.

Some Black people, misguided and desperate for the privileges of whiteness, would turn the same disgust white people hurled towards them onto themselves and/or other darker complected folks.

With “paper bag” tests and the stereotyping of lighter skin being beautiful, desirable, and innocent, and darker skin being positioned as dirty, inferior, or evil, is there any wonder why this trend continues today?

And this isn’t just a person-to-person issue. It has troubling systemic effects as well!

Researchers found that darker individuals get paid lower wages, promoted less, and often receive more guilty verdicts and slightly longer prison sentences compared to lighter individuals.

Freedom and liberation for ALL Black people (not just a fair-skinned few) ought to be our community’s top concern.

It’s up to us to practice self-love and uplift all shades of Black as beautiful, worthy of respect and admiration, and to pressure media, beauty, and entertainment decision-makers to do the same.

We have a quick favor to ask:

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