'Dark Girls' Doc Tackles Colorism In The Black Community

Is 'colorism' still an issue today? This is 2011, and yet we live in a world where some dark skin people still feel looked down on and belittled. 'Dark Girls' is a documentary set for release later this year, featuring interviews with women about their experiences, not only in the world at large, but also within the Black community.
Check out some excerpts below. What's your take on this, and what has been your experience? - Lou C-D

Tags: Black, Color, Colorism, Community, Dark, Documentary, Girls, Skin

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Comment by Monique Little on January 29, 2012 at 3:42am: I feel like this is taking us a step backwards! As a darker skinned person, I think this not that big of an issue, at least compared to other issues.

Comment by Mark Clemons on January 28, 2012 at 2:05pm: WTF! it's 2012 get off that shit.I love my Black women Dark or Light.

Comment by The Deacon on January 27, 2012 at 12:27am: I understand where Thomas is coming from; I went to a all black grade school and mostly white high school. Personally I wasn't under illusion where I stood, white kids wrote shit everyday about hating niggers in the bathroom stalls; but I saw those poor souls raised in white communities not having a clue, though they read the same messages I did. I love a good Rock and Metal tune; but I also loved Parliament Funkadelic, Bootsy, Roots Reggae. Thomas, I think the issue a lot of black people have with black kids raised in white communities; not the fact they "speak white", but they embrace everything white and turn their backs on everything black. Racism, colorism is a recent invention of history, started around the Slave trade. It's no different than the caste system of India where roles are defined by caste. People are killed for stepping outside their caste defined roles. Somebody made the shit up 3, 000 years ago, probably some greedy land owner, and everybody been following it ever since. They don't know why and assume God handed it down.

Comment by Devo on January 26, 2012 at 10:39pm: It is truly sad and confusing that this bullshit still exists in the 21st century. And I can understand the frustration personally. For instance, when I became a dreadlock back in 1990, most black people (including members of my own family) had negative stereotypes or even open hostilty about/towards dreads. Whereas Caucs (caucasoids) were more intrigued or even fascinated by my hair. It's sad and stupid that this bullshit of "light skin vs. dark skin" amongst Africans STILL exists.

Comment by Thomas on January 26, 2012 at 10:22pm: I understand a lot of where these girls are coming from. For me I was adopted by white parents when I was 6. I lived in a town that was 99.9% white. For the longest time I felt so uncomfortable around other black people because I didn't talk like them, I didn't act like them. I didn't know how to properly take care of my hair, my skin. I was always told how I wasn't good enough by them because I wasn't black enough. So, I learned to just avoid them and ignore their words because I knew nothing nice was ever going to come out of their mouths.

I still do this a bit to this day.

Comment by The Deacon on January 26, 2012 at 5:14pm: Don't fall for the man's propaganda. Remember, they set up the system and taught blacks to hate themselves and everything about their ancestry. Racism, colorism is an ideology of Capitalism. Just like Serfdom had an ideology, the lord is master because it was ordained by God. Under Capitalism, Europeans defined themselves as white (yes this has a history, see Tim Wise) and effort put forth by their philosophers, historians and ideologists to prove this point, what my mother calls talking out of your ass. It was passed down into schools and universities. Basically reinforcing white superiority and blacks inferiority.
When you see a fool making fun of a brother or sister based on skin color; it speaks to his/her level of brainwashing, slave mentality and buffoonery. We need to know our true history; that would make us proud to be black. Africa was a great empire that stretched clear into India; which by the way white folks tried to take credit for, but thanks to Indian archaeologist the truth came out. They tried to take credit for the empire your forefathers created in Egypt, but the genius Chiek Anta Diop busted them in the 60's and 70's. If your ancestral homeland is poor, it's because the Europeans, and now the Chinese, are stealing the resources. Today there's no need to say I'm superior because I'm white and you're black, it's already embedded into the system. Defining intelligence and beauty based on color spectrum is something created by white folks, only parroted by black fools.

Comment by Monique Little on January 26, 2012 at 2:52am: OMG! Really?

Comment by Skerj on January 26, 2012 at 1:54am: Pshh being dark is awesome, and comes with many benefits:

1. It's damn hard and might be nigh impossible for me to get sunburned short of getting close to the sun itself (just get darker) but then I'd be incinerated anyway so I wouldn't care much. Absorption!!

2. I slather myself with various cocoa oils and creams, paired with my complexion I'm not too far from a walking candy bar. Candy bars are delicious, so am I (even though I personally don't like chocolate that much). Attractive!!

3. I'm a night person and like all night people I love a good game of night tag. Camouflage!!

4. No matter what the hell I'm doing, the cops will be interested in me. Cop interest = safety from others who wish to harm me and/or zombies. Free protection!!*

At times I wish I could get darker but the darkness I want isn't humanly possible. Like an onyx, or that AP Shopping bag right there (points to right side).

Once these kids realize their pre-installed abilities and how much of an asshat the people are who have something negative to say about their color, they'll flourish. Eventually it'll all roll off their back and they'll go "Hey you don't like me because I'm dark, I don't like you because you're a dumbass. We have something in common!!" Then the other person gets tears in their eyes from this startling revelation and new common ground and a buddy movie is made.

Everyone is going to be tan in 300 years anyway.

*Note: Free cop protection might not always work. Sometimes you get a ticket for walking from your front door to your car because one was bored. ..I did. Also I haven't come across any zombies yet, will get back to you with new data soon.

Comment by Tyneir Bethea on January 25, 2012 at 8:51pm: Utterly shameful in 2012...it blows me to think that this is still an issue in the black community...this issue is totally perpetuated by our community by subscribing to their standards of beauty...why do we continually look to them, instead of looking within?...WAKEUP!..."BLACK IS BLACK IS BLACK IS BLACK!"...and it is beautiful!

Comment by meditation @ 4:20 on January 25, 2012 at 8:03pm: Infinite/Eternal Blessings to this Divine Goddess manifested in human form.

Darker. Sweeter. Deeper.