This Sunday at 10pm EST the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is finally doing it right! They are presenting a film documentary that was released in 2012 called Dark Girls. The documentary produced by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, is about the issue of colorism in our community. It is unfortunate that in 2013, this is still a pressing issue for African Americans, and for the first time in several years, this documentary decides to get honest about this discussion.
I wrote a blog post back in December of last year about this same issue that was presented on the CNN series Black In America hosted by Soledad O'Brien. My experience of colorism is unique compared to that of most black girls, but I still experienced it nonetheless as a lightskinned black woman. Click here if you want to read more about my personal story. I know that I have been critical of Oprah's choice to partner with Tyler Perry on her network, but I must say that I'm happy and proud that the OWN network decided to premiere this documentary for all of the world to see.
This kind of story is one of those stories that remain to be the gigantic elephant in the room when we are among black men and women of different hues and complexions. Unfortunately, our culture is too Euro-centric when it comes to perceptions of beauty. Our weaves, our makeup, and even facial reconstruction has allowed black women to dislike their own natural beauty. I am a fan of weaves in all textures and lengths, but I will openly admit that there was once a time, when I thought wearing braids looked unattractive or dare I say "too ethnic". I wrote another blog post several months back about taking a plunge and wearing box braids for the first time in my life.
We have a sad history that has brainwashed a lot of us to believe our blackness is not beautiful. White hegemonic culture continues to detach us from the beauty of what it is to be black. I think some of us, (maybe not all) have thought to ourselves that I want my nose to be more defined and pointy or my lips to look thinner. I remember as a child seeing more images of white beauty than black beauty. Having my childhood experience inundated with white imagery led me to believe that I was different, and that I should look more like "them". It saddens me that I was led to believe this, and I didn't have social media and other new media platforms to see the diversity of blackness. Blackness was very polarizing during my time and unfortunately many of us were led to believe that if you were not lightskinned or passed that damned paper bag test, then you were not of value.
I had members of my own family that were cruel to my mother who is of a medium brown complexion because she was not lightskinned enough. I notice many times in our current culture I see hip hop videos that depict women of Asian and Hispanic origin and the black women tend to be very fair skinned. I am also disappointed that artists like Nikki Minaj who is recognized by many impressionable young black girls, that somehow lightning your skin and looking exactly like a Caucasian Barbie doll is the epitome of beauty.
Dark skin has always been magnificently beautiful to me. It's flawless and even. I've always admired darker skin because of its tonality. It bothers me that dark skinned actresses in Hollywood are still few and far between. Dark skinned supermodels are even fewer. We need to stop brainwashing ourselves into the false belief that "whiteness" is the end all/be all of all things great. It's not. There is so much richness and beauty in our culture, that we should admire it and stand tall. I'm a huge advocate of admiring and embracing cultures outside of my own, but I also love my blackness and the beauty of being an African American woman who has so many cultural roots flowing through her DNA. It's an amazing thing. I wish more of us would recognize that. There's so much buried treasure in all of us. We just need to take a step back from all of the noise, and look at who we are and simply embrace the gift that has been given to us.
Dark Girls air Sunday night at 10pm EST on OWN. Check your local listings
