Colorism, prejudice against dark skin tone within one’s own ethnicity or race, is a real thing among African Americans and it’s high time we talked about it. Erica Campbell and her daughter, Krista, definitely had an honest conversation about the issue and how men seemingly choose light-skinned girls over those with darker skin.
Light skin people will never understand colorism at it's core just like white people will never understand racism. Issa lost cause. #colorism #whyyyyy
— babyface's white song (@itsjocetheboss) July 12, 2018
“A lot of the guys like light-skinned girls,” Krista tells her mom in a new clip of the family’s reality series, We’re The Campbells. “Look at my family,” the teenager continues. “You and dad: light-skinned/dark-skinned. Auntie Tina and Uncle Ted: light-skinned/dark-skinned. Auntie Alaina and Uncle Dez: light-skinned/dark-skinned. The only two dark-skinned/dark-skinned families is Auntie Lisa and Uncle Errol and nana and grandpa.”
That moment with @ImEricaCampbell and her daughter tore me apart because she’s such a beautiful girl with and amazing spirit…#colorism #WereTheCampbells pic.twitter.com/crqfrEG6Bh
— StopPlayinWifMe (@MakinMoves007) July 11, 2018
Of course, Erica tries to convince her daughter that the tone of her skin is just as beautiful as the girls with lighter skin. “Look at all these beautiful brown people in the world,” the celebrity mom tells her teen. “Look at Gabrielle Union. She’s brown [with a] gorgeous, amazing husband. Look at Kelly Rowland: beautiful. These are beautiful, brown women everywhere. All around you.”
Still, Krista tells her mom that, when it comes to this matter, she just doesn’t understand. “You’re light-skinned, so don’t really know exactly how it feels. You know?”
Whether we choose to admit it or not, colorism is a major issue among African-American families and friend groups that lead to significant psychological problems. Although the notion of lighter skin being better has some roots in slavery, the light-skinned women were chosen by the master to work in the house while the dark-skinned women labored in the sweltering heat, it is time to move forward and accept one another by the content of their character.
So I went to Takwa bay to shoot a project, and the beach was filthy. I asked the caretaker why they hadnt cleaned and he said “its thursday, we usually clean on Friday because all the whites and halfcasts come on saturday and the beach has to be clean for them” 😩😐🙄🙃 #colorism
— Ozzy (@ozzyetomi) March 22, 2018
Nadra Kareem Nittle of ThoughtCo. breaks down colorism and explains the lasting effects of this type of discrimination. The author writes, “Colorism leads to self-hatred given that no one has control over their skin color. Hence, if a child is born with dark skin and learns that dark skin is not valued by her peers, community or society generally, the youth may develop feelings of shame. This is especially true if the child is unaware of colorism’s historical roots and lacks friends and family members who shun skin color bias.”
Erica Campbell doesn’t dismiss her daughter’s feelings as irrelevant, but she does admit to a lack of understanding. “All these things that you want to have answers to, [and] sometimes I don’t. Right now I don’t.” Erica, however, vows to figure it out for her daughter’s sake.
I hate that when #colorism is brought up so many black men (light and dark) and lighter skinned people try to discredit the conversation as if it’s not a legitimate issue. It’s identical to privileged whites ignoring racism because it doesn’t effect them
— Lucky °✵.｡.⭐️ #𝟟𝟟𝟟 ⭐️.｡.✵° (@PoppedbyCherry) January 23, 2018
Catch the latest episodes of We’re The Campbells on TVOne every Tuesday at 8/7c!
