YES Africa (just like Europe) is made up of different countries, and in those countries are different types of people. Chike is correct.THERE ARE light skinned Black Africans in existence, who DO NOT have any lineage from white people. My parents are from Nigeria, and my mother is light skinned. If you knew about the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, many of them are also fair skinned. Also, human civlization began in Africa, so everything (genetics) originated from there. Don’t be one of those fools who thinks everyone who is a “true African” is dark skinned with kinky hair, wide nose, and full lips. Africans have many different physical characteristics which WERE NOT derived or passed to them from any other kinds of people.

So, instead of spouting off BS, please do some actual research on the topic. Just because you haven’t met any one from any country in Africa who is light skinned doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4236
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http://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/300777016632181
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Other Topics:
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https://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/279223868853420
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https://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/164203590359746
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http://www.facebook.com/notes/%C2%ADallpeople-gifts/the-facts-on-m%C2%ADixed-race/321878451159708
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This is about more than color and popular culture. Read the statistics. Colorism affects education, employment opportunity, income, health care, criminal justice, and a myriad of other real life issues. It needs to be discussed and confronted at every turn.

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1. Being a brown/dark skin woman in a society that caters towards a beauty type that is much different

2. Being in a society where beauty = opportunity

3. Being in a society where being a woman = must be beautiful to have opportunities– not otherwise be forever shunned as somehow, not good enough.

4. Black women NEVER feeling as though they ever got a full shot at being what our society defines as a “woman”(the beauty, the pampering, the glamour, the good mother, soft, pretty, etc.–we by DEFINITION are excluded from these comparisons) , because are culture and race as a WHOLE is in the process of re-defining ourselves. Think about. Most black people you know are the first of, know the first to do something. Our history of greatness is relatively short. (sidenote:100 years from now, I think we’ll all be amazed where black people stand in this country. Call me whimsical. Whatev.)

5. What do to about it NOW?…Now, where being dark/brown affects us, DAILY. What to do about it? I’m really not sure. Encourage each other to have “our mansions now”. Raise our black men to love and respect women of all hues. Be HONEST with ourselves–and how we feel about ourselves. Allow ourselves to change, and give ourselves permission to go against the tide–and call ourselves beautiful, WITHOUT making a direct criticism from those that are light(that would make us hypocrites).

I mean it’s hard, it really is. But God doesn’t make any mistakes, and we must remind ourselves of that. Our lives are not doomed, but like many greats in the past, they sure make for some good, unique stories lol i guess theres something to be said for that(at the least)

I hope this post made sense :/
xx

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I’m not light enough to benefit from any cast color system. I kept explaining because it seems people didn’t get my point. Usually I don’t repeat myself but I feel that this topic is so important that maybe I should try to make myself understand.

Well I don’t know if I’m light-brown, I’m Jourdan Dunn’s color so I’m more medium brown.

Either way, have a good weekend :)

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You seem very angry. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings as that was not my intention. May the Most High bless you.

Have a good weekend :)

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But, it does not matter. I have self pride and managed to instill it in him. I helped him to understand people have their opinions, which they are entitled to and some times, most of the time, those opinions are meaningless and stupid.

He’s different and
He’s fine with that ;)

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this is the BEST thing i’ve read in weeks…every keystroke was PURE GOLD.

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You did the right thing jumping in on those two young ladies. Even if you can’t stop them from thinking that way, they may think before they speak in public which may help shield some young child from that ignorance.

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come on man jealous??? Don’t you think that’s a bit much.

I think Dark-skinned women want things to be “fair” in other words not have family members(the most painful) put them down for having dark skin as well as random idiots on the street. Dark-skinned women would like to not be discounted for being dark-skinned or told they are cute “for a dark-skinned girl” as if all or even most dark-skinned women are ugly.

You’ve got to admit, colorism is a problem with some blk men and you know it’s fuelled by the same self hatred that causes many YBMs to kill each other over the most banal things.
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For anyone who says I’m being contradictory…. My issue is with this topic coming up over and over and over again and we’re always getting this sad pathetic view of what it means to be a dark-skinned blk woman when not all dark-skinned blk women feel this way. + this does dark-skinned blk women no good when it aired to outsiders.

Do you really think a 350 pound light-skinned blk woman with acne & cankles has a better life than Gabrielle Union or Naomi Campbell??? I mean be for real.

Didn’t dark brown Dianna Ross marry a billionaire?
What about the sort of men Whoopi Goldberg and Grace Jones have had over the years?

Geez yall

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Since moving to Los Angeles from New Orleans, I have been verbally attacked by dark-skinned people who assume that I don’t like them. I have been attacked verbally in front of my child. But I do not argue I keep it moving because if one attacks a virtual stranger on assumptions than that’s a deeper issue.

If I hear a conversation about light vs. dark, I don’t participate or I speak up. I was in a smoothie place a month ago when two-brown skinned women were talking about how cute a dark skinned guy is and how surprising that is. I jumped in immediately and called them on it. I said, good lawd, we are in 2012 and you are talking like this. They looked at me like I was an alien and like I should have agreed with them becuz I’m light skinned. Hell no!

Don’t believe in skin privilege and for god’s sake stop perpetuating it!!!

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DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU’RE NOT A HATER

LMAO!

OK

People can talk about the so called “woes of being dark skinned” as much as they want but it doesn’t mean others have to take it seriously.

You see, being very dark skinned is not a disease or an affliction, it’s just having a darker shade of skin than most people, and perhaps aesthestic feautures that are unmistakeably African.

What, Is there something with that?

Nothing in the least bit wrong with being dark skinned and looking African. So if you’re beefin coz that’s how you look then there “is” something wrong wid -

YOU.

And if that’s how you feel then I find YOU offensive.

KISS TEET.

This piece is merely about somebody not feeling cute because their image is not the kind most often picked to be photoshop-ed and stuck on the label of some tacky perfume bottle.

Well

magic words time -

get over it.

You live in a time and place in which european aesthetics and its non-white proximations are – en vogue. If you can’t make peace with it and find your own spot, then that’s you’re LAME business. Most people got better things to worry than some whiny jealous idiot who spends all her time lovin the people she hates and hating herself for loving em.

Stop projecting your light skin love on to others. If you see people who love light skin everywhere, it’s because you carry your love of light skin everywhere.

These crazy females remind of “nice guy” b itch asses, always whining bout women love thugs and hatin on bad boys. No – women don’t love bad boys they just don’t love your weak ass. Same dynamic with these misery queens. LMAO!

And for the storm of hate this post will attract, it’s

you lose/I win again – coz you just outed yourself as a -

HATER!

LMAO!

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I mean……..lol.

I’m just speechless.

Why dont the men just say they think light skin women look better. Why can they just say that the ‘red’ or ‘yellow’ complexion looks better instead of resulting to it being ‘rare.’

And of course dark-skinned African Americans bring it up because it effects them. duh. It also says having a darker skin color applies to job discrimination.

I dont understand why this topic cannot be spoken about without people who do not experience this chiming in pretending that they know what its like. Unless you experience it yo will never know.

Also for the women who say they have dark skinned friends who dont have any problems…That may be true. Or they may be telling you that because they see how dismissive you are.

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If this were true, blk men would be fighting in the streets over size 00 and 0 blk women because they’re rare. That’s not it honey, they prefer largely because they have issues of self-hatred. Sure some of it is just what people like but more most, it’s what they were taught to like and following the tastes of “the alpha”.

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Amen!

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le sigh

What the hell was the purpose of going on his show to have this debate??? What did Chris Rock’s Good Hair do but put blk folks bussiness out on front street.

My God, it’s so embarrassing I swear. Look I don’t have much against weaves but when I go into those hood beauty supply places and see groups of sisters spending hundreds of dollars to wear other people’s hair it just irks me. Esp when the people selling the hair to them are nonblk. I’m like what the hell must we look like spending “lil man’s” child support on some funeral yard hair

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I am a lightskinned woman and I HATE the light vs dark debate simply because it seems to me that the dark complexioned African Americans are the ones constantly bringing it up. I have been called, light bright, mulatto, creole and zebra so many times but Im sure if I called a darker complexioned person a darkie, jiggaboo or gorilla I would be wrong. I think as a people we need to realize that we are all different shades, some of us have more of the slave masters blood running through us and some of us just have family and life/love decisions blood running through us. Regardless, we are people of color and often times have a double consciousness that we have to deal with.

This double consciousness is what has had the African American struggle become so real for us and separate us.

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It’s hard out there for everybody, if you really think about it.

And can I tell you that I admire the fact that you majored in math? Many women do not get math degrees, and I thought that at least with that, you’d have your foot in the door somewhere. I’m sorry that it’s the opposite.

Have you thought about going overseas?

Keep your head up, Paige. You are more than your skin tone, and I’ve no doubt that you are a beautiful person, on and off paper :)

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We need to be more supportive of one another. If you are tired of hearing about an issue, fine. However, we all need to understand that whether we choose to ignore the issue or not, it’s still an issue. It still affects ALL of us. Darker-skinned women have it harder and not just in the black community. If women want to talk about their experiences, we should listen. If you feel that the issue is being presented as one sided, don’t dismiss the experience of another woman in order to push your point. We are all intelligent enough to discuss our experiences and listen to others without cutting them down because of something we have experienced.

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And thank you so much for hearing me out. I do realize that this is indeed a tiring and emotionally-wrought subject, but it cannot die now.

We can never let this conversation die until we all take responsibility for what we say and do around folks when the subject of our skin tone arises.

I hope we can do better for those children who will one day get their innocence stolen from them after they realize the power their skin tone.

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You and hope chest, obviously didn’t read my whole post, because you both MISSED MY POINT about my daughter, which is, and I’ll say it again – since the day she was born I wanted her to know that she – ALL OF HER IS BEAUTIFUL – her COMPLEXION AND HAIR. I further added that because she is now 16 that she is a proud and confident young black woman who does not have hair and color issues. In other words, my daughter will NOT be writing an opinion piece on what we are all responding to because she is comfortable in her OWN SKIN AND HAIR.

I also pointed out that we as BLACK PEOPLE all have issues no matter what the complexion.

People are pointing out that Beyonce and Rihanna have gotten lighter since they became famous alluding to the fact that they are possibly using enhancements to make their light skin even lighter – SO, if this is the case then that would prove that light skinned black women also have issues and we don’t have it easier either if we are trying to get even lighter then what we are purported to be. Hmmmm, food for thought!!!

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