Moya Morgan – Sports Editor
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Far too many young girls view their dark skin as an irreversible curse (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).
I hated myself from age eight until I was about 17. During those years, I was repeatedly mocked and made fun of not because of my size, height or my quirkiness, but my skin complexion.
What baffled me was the fact that these remarks were not coming from other races, but from people who looked just like me.
The very first time I knew I was dark was in the third grade. The children in my class were discussing what they were going to be for Halloween and one of the boys yelled out, “Moya doesn’t need a costume, she’s already black enough.”
That statement put a hole in my chest and dismantled my entire world. Until then, I had never seen my skin complexion as something shameful. The jokes were harsh enough to make an eight year old feel ashamed of her existence. I acquired nicknames such as “Blackie” and the “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” I was told that I would never be married because no one wanted to marry anyone as black as I was. I had not yet learned how to speak up and defend myself, nor had I learned to believe that I was anything other than what they were saying. Therefore, my self esteem was damaged and my self perception was clouded.
As I progressed through school, I constantly compared myself to my peers with a lighter complexion. I always saw them as better than me and sometimes found myself being intimidated around them. Even though they called me names and subjected me to some of the worst criticism I had ever received, I longed for their acceptance. My mother constantly reminded me of my beauty and my value and my worth. Although I appreciated her words, they were of little consolation. She is my mother and she is supposed to feel that way. However, there is something so important about being accepted, especially in adolescent years.
The stereotype of color, is often seen as a joke and is rarely taken seriously. Google populates several images and memes that mock the light skin versus dark skin debate. The origins of the divide dates back to the release of the Willie Lynch letter in 1712. It consisted of a plan to control slaves physically and mentally, destroy the language of black people and break apart a unified people, thus creating the division between light and dark individuals. These differences have created a rift within the black race. It has poisoned our thoughts as well as our actions against each other. This mentality has chained the minds of African Americans and has forced us to adapt to the belief that there is a difference in status if you are a lighter complexion.
The stereotype has also been an issue in the workplace. According to a colorism study done by Matthew Harrison, a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, a light-skinned black male with only a bachelor’s degree and basic work experience will be preferred over a dark-skinned black male with a master’s degree and past managerial experience. “This could be due to the fact that light-skinned black people share more similarities with white people than do dark-skinned black people, thus making white people more comfortable,” said Harrison.
My journey is one that is shared by many young adults who have felt rejected because of the complexion of their skin. It was not until my senior year in high school that I was able to formulate my own beliefs about who I was. That may seem like too long of a time, but I had to unlearn some things about myself to fully embrace my existence.
