“Just because you’re lightskinned”.

I have never truly understood why skin color is used an excuse. Subconsciously, many people are prone to this type of thinking. Many use skin color as a reason or excuse for something.

I grew up, blind to skin color. My family is mixed with all shades, so I never truly felt that one color was better than the next. To me, we were all Panamanian, we were all black.

This irritates me

I always get the “you can dye your hair any color, because you’re light skin”, “you can wear red lipstick and bright colors because you’re light skin” & my ultimate favorite (-_-), “being natural only works for you because you’re light skinned”.

Seriously? The fact that some people REALLY have this mentality and type of thinking KILLS my existence. Something crucial. I HATE this. Why can’t I just be bold enough to do what some can’t? Why can’t I just be a female with natural hair? Why can’t I wear what I want and do as I please without my skin color having to be questioned or the reason?

There are many black women of all shades that dye their hair all types of colors, they wear any color they want and they do whatever they please.

Can we STOP living in with this “slave mentality”? Can we stop oppressing ourselves and categorizing our people even further than others outside of our race already do. They look at us and watch he we demean ourselves and some still think of us as less than human. Why? Because WE do NOT respect ourselves as a whole.

Some of our own men clown our existence, while some women make us the butts of jokes, with all the “ratchet, welfare, baby mama, and hoodrat” jokes and pictures. WE get CATEGORIZED and DOGGED as a whole, and it all starts with us.

We pick at each other more than other races pick at us. We divide ourselves into light skin, brown skin and dark skin. Red bone and yellow bone. And blah blah blah. Are y’all done yet? Can y’all let that go?

Blacks were categorized by skin color in order to determine who would be a “field slave” and who would work in house.

So claiming a “team” and categorizing yourself doesn’t make you any better than the next person. Looking down on someone of the same race as you as unworthy or less than; does NOT make you any better.

Males are doing the same thing. Breaking each other down, dark skin or light skin, isn’t in style. Why can’t everyone just be beautiful black people?

Black kings and queens? Or does that not exist?

I am just sick of it. ALL OF IT!!! It irritates my spirit. Can we start uplifting each other as whole? Stop bashing each other, and feeling that it’s okay. Stop with the backhanded compliments (“You’re cute for a [insert skin color here] girl”). Cut it all out. Shake the negativity, revamp your mindset. And teach your children better.