Confessions of a Dark Skinned Sistah...

I was so dismayed to hear that there was actually an event for light skinned sistah's in Detroit (click to read full article). Wait! Let's not forget the LIBRA'S...

But here's why the thought of this event grinds my gears:

When I was 16, I just so happened to ask one of my aunts what I looked like and how I acted when I was a baby. She said that I was quiet. She also said that I was an ugly baby!

I laughed really hard. DAMN! That was cold. But then she kept talking, and went on to say that my cousin (a brown skinned sista) was just as ugly, but my other cousin (a light skinned queen) was beautiful child."Well if you're ugly, you're ugly," is what I was thinking while she was talking. But then I actually heard her talk about her distaste for dark skinned people in that conversation, even though she didn't come right out and just say it. In that chit chat with my aunt, I festered so much hatred for my light skinned cousin.That was a shame because she had done nothing to deserve my hatred of her.

OMG! It was so deep. Every time I saw a light skinned sista, I had something negative to say. Don't let me even SEE a picture of Tisha Campbell, Jada Pinkett Smith or my home girl Samantha looking cute. They were all kinds of "light skinned heifers" and "ugly h*es" and any other names I could think of. In my 16-year old akwardness, all I heard was "Your cousin is so pretty," this and "Isn't your cousin just blah, blah, blah," that. I felt sub human. I felt like I was beneath their standards of success or beauty and as a result, I hated myself for years. I was jealous and confused.

I can't tell you how proud I am of both of my cousins. They've grown to be so beautiful inside and out. Granted, many of you may hear my light skinned cousin say something that you may think is really stuck up or conceited, hell sometimes it is straight up stuck up and conceited. But you can kick rocks. As she always told me (in so many words) while we were growing up, "If you don't think you're the sh*t, who will?" (Didn't think I was listening, huh?)

I've learned so much from both of my cousins, and I'm proud to say that they are related to me, and that they are strong, beautiful African Queens.

Peace and Love:>)