shady

Posted on by kelley

dark skin, light skin

it don’t matter, we all kin

all-kin.jpg

“shady” ©2016 KbW

and if this simple sketch was a song:

❤

33 thoughts on “shady”

  4. It’s a shame that most people don’t really believe the eloquent words that you opened this post with. Even other Black people have been conditioned to be “blinded by the white” – men more so than women, but women aren’t immune, as evidenced by certain hairstyles and cosmetic procedures.

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    1. No doubt! That is why I tried to make this post about us, not the root of how we got to this state. Yes, we were divided and conquered by shades of SKIN and other factors. Like really, think about that. Skin color, something we have very little to no control over. But we don’t have to keep perpetuating this hateful, counterproductive behavior.

      Thanks so much for tuning in and your spot on feedback.

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  6. Thanks for this Ms. Kelley.

    You know, we talk about this in our “Flowering Vine” series. Honey, complexion was EVERYTHING in the South.
    I had a “light skinned curly haired Dad” and a “dark skinned short haired Mama”….people used to ask me junk like, “How did your Mama get your Daddy?”
    Girl, I’d look at them and say, “Rethink what you just asked me, you do realize you’re talking asking about my Mama right?”

    Anyway, my son turned me on to Kendrick Lamar and I’ve been digging him ever since 🙂

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    1. Haaaa Black folks are SO color struck is sickening. To even ask about someone’s mom is asking for trouble. I hope the nonsense crumbles and dies and I live to see it!

      Your son sounds like the reason why I want to be a mom. Thanks for tuning in!

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  7. Kelley, thank you for this! Lady G said, “complexion was EVERYTHING in the South,” complexion still IS everything in the South. My mother treated us according to our complexion. My baby sister was the lightest and my mother doted on her. I was next, but was still perceived as too dark and so was basically ignored and my middle sister who was really dark was hated by my mother and we all knew it. In fact, my mother said in front of us all and I quote, “I’d like to throw you out of this window!” This was said to my middle sister and we were on the 3rd floor of our house. Yes, it was that bad! But the thing is see, her mother was the same way with them but that does not make it right. Sigh! Many of us have come nowhere! And that is a sad shame!

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    1. Wow. It really is! And to treat your baby that way sets her up for self-destruction and the destruction of anyone that resembles her. If nowhere else in the world, you should receive love at home from your own mama! And unfortunately this story is not uncommon! Even today! Black folks, even ones that I wouldn’t consider dark, are looking to have light babies, mixed babies and babies with “pretty” hair and “pretty” eyes. Like, how old are we? Go buy a baby doll then. All of our complexions and textures and expressions are pretty, but our vile attitude toward SKIN shades? Disgusting..

      And what about intelligence? Curiosity? A healthy heart? We’re focused on the wrong things. We need to get right in our heads before we even decide to lay down and make another fool with that prejudice mindset. Thanks so much for your testimony!

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      1. You are SO right Kelley! It did indeed set my baby sister up for self-destruction as she is the one who died 4 years ago from a crack overdose. We really do need to get past this complexion thing because it certainly does us no good while doing much harm.

        Thank you for that spot on comment!

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  13. Pingback: Fifty Shades of Black – seekthebestblog

  14. I love this post! Complexion don’t mean a dam thing. The sooner we realize this, the better and safer it will be to raise the younger generation. As a black man, I have made it my point of duty to not judge people based on their cultural background. One apple don’t spoil the bunch in my eyes. We can all Coexist.

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    1. Exactly! I don’t blame Haitians or Jamaicans or West Indians or Ghanaians, etc for clinging to their nationalities and cultural differences as Black people have been stripped of so much, but these should be used as learning and discovering tools, not division or a means to put down our kin who have no idea where to pinpoint their ancestors’ birthplace.

      Also, we have to remember who created this false hierarchy and why our beautiful spectrum of brown has been misconstrued to mean good at one end and bad at the other. Black people, with a Black mindset, can definitely coexist if we love ourselves first and accept our brothers and sisters for the attributes they can’t control.

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