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Malcolm X in a speech in 1962 asked a profound question: Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? For me it was little Johnny in the 4th grade. Johnny was this really cute boy I wanted to have lunch with. So in my boldest, baddest, sassyist 4th grade princess walk, I walked over to Johnny and said “can I sit with you and have lunch?”. Little Johnny looked at me with this real indignant expression and said “you’re too dark”.

I didn’t understand what that had to do it with anything, so I turned and marched away confused. I went home looking sad and defeated. My dad who was a wonderful man and father said to me “Princess what’s wrong””? I said Little Johnny didn’t want to have lunch with me today”. Dad asked “why”? I told him with tear filled eyes “because I’m too dark”. My dad scooped me up in his arms and said you’re beautiful. Little Johnny does not know what he is missing.

My world was right after Daddy said I was beautiful. As I came into my teenage years and adult years I would soon know the answer to my question regarding little Johnny’s statement. What does me being dark have to do with anything? Everything! Not the first to be asked to dance, too dark. Not the one chosen for the school play, too dark. Called on the phone for a “phone” interview, go into the office. You know the look. Oh, you’re really black look. Dates, jobs, plays… too dark.

Villanova University did a study of 12,000 cases of African-American women imprisoned in North Carolina and found that women with lighter skin tone’s received reduced sentences and served less time than women with dark skin tone. The relationship between skin tones and school suspensions for African Americans found the darker skinned African American students were more likely to be suspended compared to lighter skin tone.

We have to change the narrative of dark skin. Dark comes from the Proto Germany Word derkoz as an adjective. In addition to being the opposite of light, dark describes things that are gloomy, difficult to interpret like a dark movie whose main character feels alienated from society, lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture. We must change the narrative of dark skin.

How do we do that?We must be daring, audaciously bold. Refusing to be kept out of places we’ve been made to feel we don’t belong. We must walk into the room take our seats at the table and be bold Black women.Second we must affirm. We must know who we are. Psalms 139:14 says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We must embrace that and walk in that truth.We must be relentless. We do not Bow, Bend or break under the notion that we are not worthy or important.We must be kind. Kind to one another, kind to the Sisters who cross our path and kind to the little sisters just coming up to exemplify the beauty of black womanhood. We will continue to break down barriers and fight injustices. My skin may be dark but there is a light inside of me that will not be hidden. I shout it from the rooftops. I will shout it from the deep crevices of the Valley. I’ll shout it in the city streets and in the countryside. I am the color of beautiful!