Last night, I rushed home from the annual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. event I always sing at to watch the follow-up to
Bill Duke's
Dark Girls –aptly titled
Light Girls. Of course, I'd heard mixed opinions about the documentary from "why are we still talking about this?" to "light skinned women don't have problems". I, however, share neither of these sentiments.
Colorism is a problem, not just in the Black community, but definitely in the Black community. And as a woman who has experienced the perils of colorism and who has seen its effects firsthand, I never shy away from the topic. I grew up in Alabama; the heart of the Civil Rights movement and probably one of the most racially divided places in the nation. It, also, is a place where the ideals and practices of colorism still linger in the Black community.
Even in my own family, I have heard twisted compliments of being pretty for a dark skinned girl and watched the subtle mistreatment of myself and my mother while my aunts and cousins with lighter skin were praised. And unfortunately, I noticed it early as my sister and all three of my childhood best friends were light skinned. I can't count the amount of boys who told me my lighter friends were prettier or who would flirt with me but date them instead. And even teachers who would spend time holding said girls while playing in their hair as I watched on confused. Did I cry as a result? No. But did I notice that there was trend? Absolutely.
Even my lighter friends themselves made comments or sly remarks about me being darker. Even they were convinced they were prettier than, not just me, but definitely me. And unfortunately, I would bow to their idea of truth for most of my life. YET, I still don't think they weren't met with their own set of challenges or that any of this was my young friends' faults. People constantly hating them for perceived arrogance or girls trying to fight them for hair that would swing is just as wrong as people ignoring or taunting me for the exact opposite reasons.
Thus I think
Light Girls was needed.
But here's my problem with
Light Girls versus
Dark Girls: the story was told from a very superficial standpoint. Their only problem can't JUST be that people were calling them pretty or stuck up. That cannot be the extent of their experience with colorism. In fact, I know it isn't. Which is why I'm glad they also talked about the feelings of inadequacies and not being Black enough and the constant asking of "what are you?". But I felt like these moments were so limited.
When I watched
Dark Girls, even the moments that didn't relate exactly to my experience struck me. As I watched
Light Girls, I struggled to see the connection between their comments and my perceived purpose of the documentary. And maybe that was the real problem. Maybe the purpose was never made clear. Was it just to inform me that Light Girls have problems, too? If so, great. Or was it to show me that there was a commonality in our experiences? Or what? I get it was a conversation starter and I'm all here for that. Let's talk about it. Let's get over it. Let's heal. But, don't skim over the real issues if you want to produce a documentary. Give us some help in starting the conversation. Don't make us feel more polarized than when we began.
And why were there so many men? Where were the mental health professionals? Why didn't we talk about the privileges? And why was there no talk of white supremacy? Also, I love bloggers (hello!), but I wanted to hear more from people who are out here doing the work and studying the topic. This can't just be opinion based. There has to be some knowledge and ideas about real solutions.
Perhaps this is where the conversation begins. Maybe this is where we pick up; where our kitchen tables, church pews and classrooms come into play.
All in all, I appreciate that the discussion on colorism has a platform. I appreciate the fact that we are finally brave enough to speak about those old wounds that have, unfortunately, held us back. I don't know if people will erase #teamlightskin or #teamdarkskin from the bios of their Twitter profiles just yet, but at least we're talking about it.
What were your thoughts? How did you feel about
#LightGirls? Let me know in the comments below or Tweet me
@whitandlove!
