‘Light Girls’: Raven Symone, Soledad O’Brien, Wayne Brady, LisaRaye McCoy Talk Complexion in America [VIDEO]
In 2011, director Bill Duke in collaboration with OWN brought one of America’s most prominent conflicts to the forefront; skin tone. In the documentary “DARK GIRLS”, he examined the journeys of dark skinned adolescents and women. Through the voices of both men and women affected by the epidemic there was a discussion of racism, self-hatred, and classism. Celebrities such as actress Viola Davis and actor Michael Colyar participated in the discussion in an attempt to restore the internal confidence and societal value of dark skinned women.
Wanting to answer the question: Do lighter people have better lives? Duke released “Light Girls”. This documentary — which aired last night — explored the world of women with lighter skin complexions and their tumultuous experiences. Throughout the documentary there was an analysis of skin color from a historical, global, social and psychological perspective.
With the help of Iyanla Vanzant, Raven Symone, KeKe Wyaat, Angela Yee, Wayne Brady, Dr. Gabriel Crenshaw, Essence Atkins, Amber Rose, Kym Whitley, Soledad O’Brien, Dallas Austin, Chante’ Moore, and many more the story of “living while light” is presented. Check out a few experts below:
History
Iyanla Vanzant:
One of the things that continue to plague us I believe is this issue of valuing worth being associated with the shade or the color of your skin…and that whole issue of value and worth based on the color of your skin, the texture of your hair, the shape of your features, the straighter the nose, the thinner the lips, makes you more beautiful, more valuable, more worthy. It has been etched and impressed in our DNA.
Wayne Brady:
We have been programmed to think that somehow the differences in our hue are some external gage of our character or things that we walk around inside. Only thing is it’s not the white people that attribute that to us.
Categorization
Kym Whitley:
I was trying to over compensate for not being black enough.
KeKe Wyatt:
Black girls said I wasn’t black enough. White girls said I wasn’t white enough and they didn’t
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The sad part, this isnt just a “BLACK THING”. There are many cultures that define each other by pigmentation. We as people must eraticate this thought process. Its a conscious decision to see the person, not their completion.
#50ShadesOfFierce
I had an asian friend who had the same issues w/in her own culture. In fact, she tried to stay out of the sun, as much as possible.
This is an ongoing issue, especially in light of all that’s going on in our world in 2017 around this social construct called RACE! The only race we need right now is a race to find the cure to end this BS! I was glad to be a part of the discussion in #LIGHTGIRLS –Thanks Jasmine!
-Dr. Gabe-