I am that little Black Girl
"If everybody was colour blind then colourism would have been an imagination." – Mehak Nigam
Everybody is not colour blind and as such colourism is a very real issue that we face. Jamaica has been emancipated from slavery since 1838, but there are still residual traits that our colonial masters have left with us. One of these traits is colourism. According to the Oxford Dictionary, colourism is "really prejudice and /or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic and/or racial group." Jamaica's population includes a vast majority of people of African descent, yet many of us face discrimination from our peers.
Many dark-skinned people complain about being treated differently because of the shade of their skin. Dancehall artiste Spice in 2018 explored the issue when she shocked fans on Instagram by posting a photo of herself sporting a much lighter complexion than the one her fans had been become accustomed to seeing. Coupled with this, she captioned the post, "Nothing wrong with a fresh start..." The artiste subsequently made a lengthy post informing her fans that she had not bleached her skin but wanted to highlight an issue which has been hush-hush in Jamaica - colorism. The initial post from Spice was very impactful, as many individuals bashed her for bleaching her skin. Ironically, in this instance, some of her critiques may have been individuals who previously referred to her as black and ugly.
I have also experienced colourism. As a dark-skinned individual, I became conscious of my complexion as a child. My peers and I would compare skin tones to see who had fairer skin and by extension the 'better' of the skin tones. I am sure this was something that we picked up from people around us and/or subliminal messages we saw in the media. During my high school years, people pointedly told me that I was not as pretty as my friends who had permed hair and light skin. Next to them, with my dark skin and kinky hair, I felt as if I was not worthy of all the love and light that the world has to offer; this immensely affected my self-esteem. I can also vividly remember being told by somebody I loved that I was beautiful for a black girl. I can honestly say that I did not fully understand the implications of this comment. I now understand. However, I harbour no ill will. The belief that being dark-skinned possibly mars your beauty may have been ingrained.
Fast forward to my late teens, being dark-skinned became a fad. At least that is how I saw another wave of black consciousness's evolution as a young woman. I truly started to feel some love because of my skin tone; I was previously identified as black and ugly. I was still black and ugly in many circles, but I suddenly became a melanin goddess in some circles. I can genuinely say my experiences changed and I started listening to songs such as 2Baba's (known then as 2Face Idibia) African Queen, which made me feel like a Queen. I have since made conscious efforts to love and appreciate my skin. After all, my chocolate toned skin has been doing its best for twenty-five years to protect me (all my organs).
Colourism's effect is blatantly evident in the prevalence of skin bleaching across Jamaica, but I can surely say we have come a long way from where we were. As Jamaicans of colour, we all fight individual battles coupled with the issue of colourism. However, it is incumbent on us to love ourselves, despite the shade of our skin or texture of our hair.
"Self-love. It doesn't mean that everyone will treat you the way you deserve to be treated. It means you won't let them change the way you see yourself…" – Tony A. Gaskins Jr.