I posted that question in preparation for my upcoming October series on coloracism amongst blacks and other dark-skinned minorities. I was expecting some feedback, but frankly, the 115+ comments I got in just 24 hours was telling me something sinister and incendiary was going on, and we don’t seem to want to discuss it –as with many *cough* other stains in our collective dirty laundry basket.
I first had intended to introduce this topic in another way. But this woman’s experience so moved and frighted me and the impact, I believe, stands alone.
I am originally from a Caribbean country but I was raised here in America; I believe that colorism is ten thousand times worse over there than in the US. At least here in the US the one drop rule forced light-skinned and mixed race blacks to identify as black, even if they looked white, like Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Many white-looking blacks like him chose not to pass as white. But no such rule exists in my country, so light-skinned people, even those with African features, consider themselves white and most of them really hate dark skinned people.
