50 Shades of Black Skin Tones
- Confi
- Jun 30, 2016
- 2 min read
A rant, because no one owns activism.
There have been some rather one-sided posts on Twitter regarding black female activism which have recently graduated to more popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
The posts, which were screenshotted from Twitter and posted to Facebook and Instagram by black female activists attack prominent black women rights activist the likes of Amandla Stenberg, who portrayed Rue in the Hunger Games and Zendaya Coleman, a Disney favourite for leading the charge.
The posts claim Stenberg and Coleman should not represent young black female youth because they are light-skinned and bi-racial, and therefore, cannot relate to all the struggles of young black girls. Even the legendary Huffington Post had an article on the topic.
Due to obvious influence of generations of racial segregation and white superiority, having a fairer complexion was a highly desired trait amongst African communities. The myth that ‘Yellowbones,’ Africans with a more caramel skin tone where automatically more beautiful, was further perpetuated by misogynistic male culture amongst African men. Dark-skinned Africans were the butt of several many jokes until actress Lupita Nyong'o challenged the perception that lighter skin is more beautiful.
The young black feminist movement has grown amazingly since then but is being threatened with division by young black girls who still feel insecure about the hue of their skin. I am not dark-skinned nor am I female, but to say that the injustices experienced by those of lighter skin is inferior and less-important than the those of dark skin is just as much prejudicial as losing as a job-opportunity based on your gender.
To deny bi-racial people their place in the fight against racism is to deny them a portion of their heritage, regardless of its size. Posts like this only serve to divide strong communities along lines of race, just as apartheid and segregation laws in South Africa and the United States did.
By claiming that only light-skinned women like Beyonce, Coleman and Stenberg lead the feminist movement, you undermine the efforts of darker-skinned women like Viola Davis, who gave a heart-breaking speech on the Black Woman during her acceptance speech for Best Actress for How to Get Away with Murder. She stands in solidarity with all black women – whether the look like milk or as dark a shade the night sky – and so should you.
That's the Tea.
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