COLORISM

If you grew up in a community affected by colonialism and the belief in White supremacy, then guess what? Your people are probably exhibiting the effects of colorism, whether internally or externally. It's an issue that affects a lot of us, no matter how much we (don't) talk about it - from artists choosing the light(er)-skinned Latinas to be in their bachata videos, to the "red-bone," "yellow-bone" vixens idolized in hip hop videos (I mean I know, they're damn videos), and to who gets the Hollywood roles - colorism shapes our minds from the exit of the womb until we realize that we've been drinking the kool-aid for a little too long. 

I reflected after I watched Oprah's series on Dark Girls and Light Girls, and could relate to some of what the women were talking about, with regard to the complex of having light or dark skin in the African diaspora.    

It's time to get fresh water in our veins. 

~

Colorism​
Sounds amazing.
Blue
Red
White
Orange
Invoking the rainbow
All playing a role in reflecting colors of beauty against a gray sky
In America
It means
Light or dark
With no room for those of us in between
Or those who know what it feels like to be both
It’s so deceptive, like a worm in your food
You think you’re not affected
Until you realize
That you’ve been eating worms in your food all this time
Cutting off the dark parts of the banana for no reason
Picking out the darker pieces from your snacks because they don’t belong
Colorblindness isn’t the answer
Not succumbing to outside prejudice is
Knowing who you are
And that you are beautiful is
Without needing to feel better or worse than another
For reasons no one can control
Colorism
Is Beauty
When acknowledged for the right purpose
When it recognizes the uniqueness
Of a variety of hues
That glow and reflect
Brilliance
Across a gray sky