"The Black Sheep"

While many Black kids encounter prejudice and racism at a young age, I was not one of those kids. After reading an incident on racism in schools, I was asked did I ever encounter racist acts such as being followed in a store or someone undermining my intelligence because of my race. Honestly, I haven't and why? Because I have the privilege of being light-skinned.

The privilege of being light-skinned? What does that mean? People don't discriminate against me because I'm of a lighter complexion.

I am superior within my race because I resemble White, which is perfection in society's eyes. While I wish this whole idea of dark skinned vs. light skinned discrimination wasn't true, I have to be honest with myself and it is true.

This idea is not a new concept. Light-skinned privilege dates back to slavery. Darker complexion slaves were forced to do strenuous, field work, while the lighter complexion slaves were more favorable, and subjected to house duties. Even today, society tells us that "Black is beautiful", with a photo of Beyonce. The underlying meaning is that, "Black is beautiful...but too much Black is ugly." When I turn on my television, light-skinned models are plastered all over commercials, television shows, and music videos. Even living in DC, I hear boys say, "A girl needs to pass the brown paper bag test if she wants to be with me." Blacks are already discriminated against enough, and society chooses to segregate Blacks even more by this idea of light-skinned privilege.

However, while it seems a privilege to some, I hated being light-skinned growing up. I stood out around my dark-skinned family. I was constantly being called Wonder Bread, white girl, and cracker by my cousins and siblings. When I went to school, I was the "white girl" out of my group of friends. I remember freshman year of high school, a white girl in my class got a slight tan, and everyone told her, "Wow, now you're more Black than Nichelle! You're darker than her! Nichelle you are White! “More Black? Me being White? It was definitely a weird experience for me, being called White by my Black AND White peers. For Christmas, a family member of mine gave me tanning oils so I could become darker. I am the Black sheep of my family and friends—no pun intended.

The question I constantly ask myself, "Is where do I fit in?" I'm not light enough to be White, but I'm not dark enough to be Black. The solution to this question is simple: If America looked past complexion and race, then society would be better. People should learn to not judge others by what they look like, but what they do and who they are. Even though Martin Luther King quotes are overused, one quote is true: "You should judge others not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Although I know America is a long way from ending internal racism and racism overall, the first step is acceptance of others despite the way they look.