I always wanted to be black
Angela, Manchester, NH. Since I was a small child, I have thought black people were more beautiful, more brave, more…everything than whites. I am white...
Are You the Three Wise Men?
Donna Reiss, Brownstown Twp , MI. Its Christmas time in Detroit, 1961. I was 3 years old and in the bank line with my Mom....
Black girls can rock bold lipstick!
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX. Often black women are told that we shouldn’t pull any more attention to our lips because they are sooooooo big!...
“You’re pretty for a dark skin girl.”
Shanyla, Beachwood, Ohio. I hear these words way too often and I always get more and more offended each time. What am I supposed to...
You are cute to be dark
Secunda Joseph, Houston, TX. I’ve always seen the beauty in myself even as a kid. My brother and I were the darkest of all aunts,...
You’re pretty…for a dark-skinned girl!
Vernae Williams, Sacramento, CA. I grew up in a family full of light skinned people. I always felt like an outsider because within the Black...
I AM MORE THAN MY COMPLEXION
Latonya Sampson, Los Angeles, CA. I am so much more than what your eyes can see on the outside.
You’re a pretty smart black guy!
Tac Mohamed, Miami, FL. I’ve heard it from friends, co-workers and many in between. Other variations include: You’re pretty smart for a black man. Is...
“No offense, but you’re so pretty!”
K.E. Broadnax, Cleveland, OH. This was said to me while attending college. I am black, and went to a predominantly white, upper-class university (as many...
You’re pretty for a Black girl.
Maya Segirah, Los Angeles, CA. As if the qualifier, somehow, makes me different from the rest, which are by implication inferior, and therefore I’m better?...
“You’re pretty for a black girl”
Alexis, Minooka, IL. I hate when not just other races say this about black girls, but African Americans alone say this to individuals. I think...
You’re pretty for a DARK SKIN GIRL
Alexandria James-Hayes, Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I have lived in the suburbs my whole life and I grew up around mostly white people. My parents are...
You’re pretty for a black girl
Gloria Collins, Shreveport, LA. Every ethnic group has beauty. No race has more beauty over other races.
