Question of Color

Attending the seminar called “A Question of Color” hosted by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was a great eye opener to me. I found it very interesting to watch the film and participate in the discussion. Many view points were bought up that introduced the many things of racism many people face on a daily basis.

When the topic of racism comes up, we automatically think of prejudice across races; however, very rarely do we see the effects of internalized racism within races. During the event, we first watched a film called “A Question of Color” that demonstrated these view points. The movie began with a woman who felt judged by the guy she was dating. He wouldn’t take her to meet his mother because she was too dark-skinned. This made her feel lousy. Racism is something that needs to be addressed because it affects the way we see our community as well as how we relate to each other. The video stated that every black person is at one time challenged about their color. There is much tension sometimes between light skinned blacks and darker skinned blacks. Also, it was brought up that many people say they don’t have any problem with color, but things creep into their conversations and actions.

Tuskegee University is a prominently black college, and Booker T. Washington was its first president. Throughout the history of this university, there were mainly light skinned presidents that led the college. When a well qualified man became the first dark skinned president, there was a public outcry. As the movie states, “People wanted tall, light, and handsome instead of tall, dark, and qualified.” Many blacks feel they need to not only overcome white discrimination but color and class discrimination in the black community as well. In the black community, the wealthiest families tended to be light skinned rather than dark skinned. We see a problem when people feel they are not good enough to succeed and not good enough for others’ standards because the way they are born.

One instance in which we can see the discrimination within the black community is with two friends, one light skinned, the other dark skinned. People around them prefer the light skinned friend more because of his lighter skin and better hair texture. These friends both see the effects but do not talk about discrimination with each other. They feel they are friends for who they are, not because of their color. When a racial comment is made in a conversation, many people go along with the comment and laugh because they don’t want to stick out, even if they disagree with the racism.

In the movie, many newspaper ads were shown that advertised ways to have lighter skin. It is amazing to see what lengths people will go to change their appearance to feel like they fit in. Many women feel there are many conflicts between black women of different skin color because of the competition of beauty. Some blacks feel discriminated against because they feel others think they are not supposed to excel and not supposed to have anything. One woman of lighter black skin catches discrimination from the black community. People ask her where she is from and tell her she can’t be black because she looks too much like a white person. Many lighter blacks feel this same way that they get hostility from the black community.

In 1977, another incident of racism within the black community occurred. Essence, a black magazine, called a mother and daughter to be on the cover. The mother was dark skinned while the daughter was light skinned and looked more white. Many readers were angry and asked the publishers why they were putting a white woman on the cover of a black magazine. The name “skillet blond” is used to call people who are very dark and have very strong African American features. Many children in the black community get the impression they are bad kids because they are told they have bad hair, bad lips, and a bad nose. These people felt many things inhibited them, told them they weren’t beautiful. The environment you grow up in has a great effect on who you become.

Some of these people who are taught to hate their appearance will do things to try to change their appearance. Black women try to look like white women because they too want to be seen as beautiful. The movie explained how many people have had cosmetic surgery to look more like the white European image. Blacks were having surgery to change the appearance of their nose, and some Asians were having surgery on the shape of their eyes. The 1960s was touched by a movement known as the Black Consciousness Movement, which rocked old traditions and prejudices of racism. This was a movement encouraging people to embrace their past rather than deny it. The 1960s was an exciting time for blacks. One step is the first black reporter appeared on the news. She wanted to wear her natural hair but was taken off the air because she refused to straighten her hair. After a public outcry, however, she was reinstated. Another example of internalized racism is that light skinned blacks felt they had to prove themselves worthy to go into the black student union. While we have made great steps away from racism, many contradictions still linger. For example, many rappers are seen singing to light skinned women with good hair.

Racism has taught many blacks to be ashamed of how they look. The movie declares it necessary to honestly and openly discuss color consciousness in an effort to overcome shame and heal ourselves as a community. While this movie focused on the black community, internalized racism extends to all color communities, and this is an issue that needs to be addressed and corrected.

After watching the movie, there was an open discussion among the large group. Many different perspectives were shared. One young man shared that he identified with trying to prove yourself as light skinned because he was part of a light skinned family in a predominantly dark skinned community. Another topic that was brought up is how people feel more comfortable with people that look like them. This is one reason why some companies are less diverse. People want people who will fit in and allow the company to continue operating efficiently. One girl in the meeting explained how she felt her natural hair was not accepted among those around her. There is another movie called “New Growth” that discusses this issue of hair and how people are judged about it. The tension between light skinned and dark skinned African Americans is not widely known to everyone. I, for one, did not realize this was such a large issue among the black community. Another participant discussed how this issue is extended into the Latino community. Latinos are discriminated about whether or not they speak Spanish and whether or not they grew up in Mexico.

After seeing this interesting video and listening to the discussion, I feel I learned a lot about different perspectives people were coming from. Everyone wants an identity of where they feel they fit in. We as a community need to overcome this issue of internalized racism because it is something that affects every one of us every day. People make many judgments, but we must be careful to not judge others by their appearance or race. It is important to look at why we do what we do and why we think what we think about others.