Racism vs Colorism

I hate that both of those terms even exist, they both make me cringe and want to cry. They make my heart beat fast and want to slap someone all the same time. So, I’ve never really experienced racism but oh colorism now that’s a different story.

 

Growning up in small minded Mississippi, of course the color of your skin during the late 80s and early 1900s mattered. I was the naïve one that thought it didn't matter. So, I never really shared this because I didn’t think it mattered and I figured that I could put it at the back of my mind and forget it…but watching Oprahs’ Light Skin Girls kind of put things into perspective for me.  During middle school I was bullied every single day. One of the main things that sticks out in my mind  was being called RuPAUL and it was all done by students of the same race as me. I never really knew who RuPAUL was until they began calling me that name. So once I figured this out, I was mortified. If you don’t know who that is go…look…it…up!!!! I was hurt because I didn’t really understand why they were calling me that but they were OBVIOUSLY on a mission to make me feel less like a human and more like a dog. Believe it or not they succeeded. I withdrew into this shell of a person I didn’t even realize. I began to think that I was ugly and I that I really did look like the person they were calling me. In about the seventh grade, my mother said it was okay for me to go live with my Aunt Betty and my best cousin in the whole wide world (DESSICA) in Chicago. I don’t know if it was because she knew what was going on or God intervening. I was so happy for that year to get away from those students and just be able to breathe and be my happy self. When I returned to Mississippi it was with a clean slate, I pretty much forgave everyone that called me names and never spoke to them again.  I never really made friends until high school, and I was okay with that. I came out of my shell that year…now I have no filter and don’t care what anyone has to say about me. I realized a long time ago that the color of my skin does not dictate how successful or how beautiful I am.

 

Now Racism. I absolutely positively LOVE Dr. Martin Luther King. I don’t know how someone can feel so empowered in the face of adversity.  It was like he spoke for every Black person in the nation that didn't know they had a voice. Their were so many people that were against and believed in a totally different way than he did, but he still pressed on and did what he believed was right. I have heard so many horror stories about slavery and how MY PEOPLE had to grow up picking cotton and being beat, saying yes sir and no sir and raising other folks kids. I just CAN NOT imagine growing up during that era, surely I would have been beat for my slick mouth.

                                                           My Favorite MLK Quote

 

YOU have to keep it moving people. I know we are not as far away from racism as we would like, but we've come a long way from being in the fields. Are you doing your part? Or adding to the problem?

So what’s worse colorism or racism? Both can cut as deep as a knife and leave invisible scars for years. I hope everyone learns to appreciate others for being DIFFERENT. Everyone is not going to be the same...THANK GOD. The world can only handle ONE OF ME, I DONT KNOW ABOUT HOW MANY YOUS (I know that's not a real word but you get my point) IT CAN HANDLE!!!