I am an avid reader of African-American gossip blogs like concrete loop and crunk & disorderly. From Crunk & Disorderly, I was shocked and disappointed when I heard this crazy story of a party promoter who handed out flyers for a party solely for light-skinned black women. The party for lightskinned girls was called “Light Skin Libra Birthday Bash” and the promoter claimed that he had ones for medium skinned black girls and dark-skinned one.
The whole bloody concept of these parties is outrageous, that much is obvious. The promoter apologised but is that really the point? It is no secret that colourism is a phenomenon that affects all members of the African diaspora but the way in which this was done is really quite disgusting.
I have heard many examples of colourism: My mum told me once that in the old days, a bride who had light skin would fetch a higher bride price than say a woman with darker skin (Ludicrous but true). In Martinique, the French Caribbean island, has a hierarchy of words to describe people who are light, dark, medium (when I was there last year, some boys complained that women only liked chabins, light-skinned black men). My boyfriend is from the West Indies too and told me that people would call him “red” or “redman” because of his skin-tone. Do these labels still matter?
In ways, I feel like the promoter of the party and many other victims of colourism did not know any better because if people cannot get over what happened in the past such as the brown paper bag tests, what actual hope is there for our futures? People like Beyonce, Diana Ross, Tina Turner have become superstars. They are undeniably talented but did them being light-skinned push them forward? I think it would be naive to deny the part shadism did play for many black entertainers.
Has anyone seen “The Human Stain” film with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman? (Brief synopsis: Hopkins character is a black man who is passing for white/don’t read the next part if you don’t like spoilers!).There is a part in the film when the young Anthony is with his mother and talking to her. She tells him something along the lines of “your skin is as white as snow and you think like a slave”. That was in reference to him basically turning his back on his family. That line for me sums the thorny subject of colourism because ultimately it asks difficult and uncomfortable questions about identity and whether identity is based on hierarchies.
Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie have both played ‘black’ characters in films where they are white. Is this proof that colourism is stopping black actors from having a fair chance at playing roles or does colourism solely affect ethnic minority communities without any spill over?
Links
*”Passing” ~ Nella Larsen
*‘Colourism: Shattering the Illusion’