I am putting every light-skinned Black woman on notice. Hence forth and forever more, after the vile,
reprehensible, racist/colorist/misogynoir comments that Leslie Jones has been
subjected to, from racist white people AND from coon-ass, self-hating Black men,
be prepared for me to curse you out like you’ve never been cursed before in
your life if you have the audacity to suggest that somehow your plight as a
light-skinned Black woman has been similarly tragic or painful to that of the
dark-skinned Black woman. I’m going to make
you regret your callous and thoughtless words if I read one single comment from
a light-skinned Black woman saying, “Oh, boo hoo hoo, I got called ‘too pretty’
or ‘high yellow’ when I was young and it hurt my feelings. My pain is just as valid as dark-skinned women’s
pain,” Im’ma curse you up one side and down the other. If I overhear one single solitary light-skinned
woman say anything other than, “While I’ve been subjected to taunts and
comments that hurt my feelings because of my lighter skin tone, I fully
acknowledge that dark-skinned Black women have been subjected to FAR worse than
anything I’ve ever been subjected to and my heart goes out to every dark-skinned
woman who has ever been ridiculed, demonized, degraded, or humiliated because
of her beautiful, rich, deep, melanated skin tone.” It’s called empathy for someone whose plight
is worse than yours. Try it.
You lose NOTHING, not a god damn thing, by saying that dark-skinned
women are treated and have been historically treated exponentially worse in
this society than light-skinned women. It’s
been that way since the first captured African was impregnated. Black men will not think you are uglier. You will not get less dates. You will not turn dark-skinned
overnight. All you have to do is find a
little humility in your heart and acknowledge that our society consistently and
pathologically treats dark-skinned Black women like shit. Want proof? Finish this joke. Your mama is sooooo light . . . Wait, you can’t,
can you? No, because you’ve never been
subjected to the internalized racism that dark-skinned Black women face from
their very own community and you certainly have never been called the
unspeakable names that racist, coward whites feel free to hurl over the
internet. What’s worse, being called a “red
bone” or someone saying, “You think you cute,” or being called a jungle bunny, porch
monkey, Ubangi African black ass nigger, nigger, nigger? The world will not stop spinning if you say
that what dark-skinned women have it far worse than you do. I promise.
Every magazine cover, every television show, every movie,
book cover, commercial, and music video, every single solitary facet of our
society praises light skinned women as being the most beautiful Black women. NEVER have you been subjected to the cruel and
hateful comments that dark-skinned women have had to endure and whatever taunts
or comments you might have gotten, they do not and cannot compare to what dark-skinned
women have been subjected to. Acknowledge
that so that we might take a tiny little step off the plantation and move
toward healing.
Now, run tell that!