K anyanwu's Blog

When I first read "Black No More", the idea of colorism seemed foreign and extinct. However, looking at our Black community today, colorism is still very present. My friend who attends Spelman College (a HBCU) in Atlanta, Georgia once told me that years ago, Spelman didn’t grant admission to women who were darker than a brown paper bag. In the present day, on TV and in magazines, you seldom see a dark-skinned black person. Our culture is still being led to believe that having lighter skin makes you a more desired person.

Today, black children having white G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls with blond hair and blue eyes reinforce colorism. It is also strengthened by the absence of dark-skinned black people on TV and in magazines. If you ask any black boy to name a female celebrity whom he finds attractive, chances are you will receive responses such as Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Eva Pigford, and Mya. Celebrities such as Lauryn Hill, Serena Williams, and Kelly Rowlands probably won’t even get mentioned. The absence of dark skinned women on the T.V. in videos and in the magazine leads to further division and self-hatred. I remember back when I was younger, my dark skinned friends wanting to marry White or Hispanic men when they grew older so that their children would have “good hair”. Sounds just like the fictional post-Harlem in George Schuyler’s Black No More. Things haven’t changed much at all.

Schuyler’s satire proved to be effective in pointing out the institution of colorism among the Black community. It’s is something that has existed long before our time and still exists today. At this point Black people almost rely on that color-based hierarchy; and will always look for some way to create division within the race. Instead of dividing ourselves, we need to join as a community to battle important issues such as HIV, drugs, violence, and international matters; there is too much in this world too worry about, skin tone isn’t among them.

I suggest anyone intrested should read BLACK NO MORE by George Schuyler

http://www.progressiveu.org/160000-light-skin-is-better-than-dark-hell-no