Ashley Ward
Edgewood, MD
My Grandmother grew up in a different time, where to be light was right and to be dark was wrong. My grandmother was extremely light, but my biological father is west indian and extremely dark. Dark like the ocean and I favored his complexion over my maternal genes. I was my Grandmother’s youngest grandchild and her favorite. I guess over the years her love for me dispelled the colorism she had. My mother never told me my Grandmother said this until this year. It stung like a thousand knifes.