Chocolate Skin

I look around my world today and see people of every hue. But they are not all treated equally. Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with a young woman who has incredibly beautiful skin. It is a deep chocolate color and is even and smooth. I went up to this young woman to tell her how beautiful I thought her skin was and she couldn't believe what I was telling her.

I reached out and touched this young woman's arm and marveled at its softness and hue. This young woman had come to see herself as less desirable because of her very dark skin. I told her I thought it was gorrgous and I was a little bit jealous of how pretty her skin was. She didn't know what to say.

American society does not value dark skin and even in the African American community, the lighter the better. The idealization of the Brown Paper Bag Test is still co-vertly looms the psyche of Blacks here. Within my own family, the lighter the skin the better the kid must be. Those who are darker, are still loved for sure, but it seems like there is...less expectation for these particular individuals. Now, I happen to be on the lighter side of the spectrum and therefore many things are expected of me. I just wanted this young person to know, that beauty is beauty... and she is included.