Welcome to the #BlackBlogsMatter challenge! Throughout the 28 days of February, my posts will not (necessarily) be about HR, Leadership or Management topics.

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I am about as far from Team Dark Skin as a Black person can get.

However, I’ve read and experienced enough to know that it is more difficult to be a dark-skinned Black person than it is to be any other hue.

• Dark skinned men are seen as a greater threat than their Brown and Light counterparts.
• Dark skinned women are seen as more angry and attitudinal than their Brown and Light counterparts.
• Dark skinned people as a whole are seen as less attractive than their Brown and Light counterparts. And this particular view holds true across all races.

 

Whiteness remains the standard for goodness, happiness and beauty. Worldwide.

The closer you are to the standard, the better you are perceived as innately holding these qualities. And the closer you are to the standard, the greater the likelihood the systems of our societies will allow you to attain pieces of these qualities.

Pieces. But not the whole.

Because “close to White” and “like White” still ain’t White.

Team Dark Skin

I’m glad to see this is starting to change a little in the casting and images we see from Hollywood.

Art imitates Life … which imitates Art imitating Life. It’s like a fancier version of the chicken and the egg.

This chicken/egg debate of art/life is why mainstream representation so important for Black people and all People of Color as well as for Women of various ages and sizes. We absolutely need to see ourselves on screen and in print. It is critical to how we are seen and treated in the world we live in and the world at large. Seeing ourselves in mainstream lets us know we are accepted and acceptable. The system won’t let us forget that we’re not the standard — but at least we’re not cast off in a corner or locked in a basement, either.

It’s not ideal. It’s not fair. But it is progress.

Today, I want to share some of my favorite Chocolate Man Candy to celebrate the beautifulness of Team Dark Skin, who is so often mocked and bullied for something completely beyond their control or choice.

Enjoy these photos of actors Idris Elba, Morris Chestnut and Kofe Sirboe that I found on Pinterest.

And I couldn’t let Team Dark Skin day go by without showing love for my Chocolate Girl Wonder and Woman Crush EVERYday… the amazing force that is Viola Davis

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Tune in tomorrow for Day 10 – Team Light Skin