"You Would Be Prettier If You Weren't Too Dark"

The title, as atrocious as it may sound, isn't just something I made up in my head like my other ones. No, see, this title is a quote I had to dig from my memories as a child. The little black boy that said this to me surprised me as we were the same shade of brown. Would he, too, be more handsome if he was lighter, or does this quote lie in misogynoir? It wasn't until years later that I realized what colorism was. One of the black community's own forms of discrimination. At first, I didn't understand the -ism. I thought, well, aren't we all black? But the more I thought about it, throughout my life lighter skin was more desirable. Whether it be what I watch on TV or what I experienced on a daily basis, my dark skin was never appreciated. America has tricked its racial minorities that being closer to whiteness equates to holding a power that those of darker complexions do not have. Because of this trickery and mental manipulation, white America has made it clear that whiteness is superior. Now that I know more about the bloodlust roots of this country, this phenomenon doesn't surprise me. It was all part of the plan that white supremacy has drawn out for this country since 1776. But I ask the members of the black community, why must we hold on to this plan as if it were to benefit us? Why are we subjected to glorify the very whiteness that dehumanized us? As a darker woman, I can only say how disappointed I am in the black men of our community that raise these standards not only to women but to little girls teaching their sons the same mindset. The skin bleaching, the hair perming, the feature shaming. Why can't women just exist as is? The road to whiteness is an everlasting road that no black person can finish, so I ask, why do we stay on this road?