A Nubian Queen

-By: D

"There's nothing wrong with you, but... there is a lot wrong with the world that you live in."

Black is Beautiful... and Dark is too

I am fully aware of the over discussed topic of light skin vs. dark skin… From the perspective of your standard dark skinned beauty is the tale of being treated differently, not by people of other races, but by people of our own community. From the perspective of your fairer skinned Nubian Queens is the tale of nonacceptance. As if they cannot claim the black race because they receive certain privileges and opportunities.

We segregate ourselves… here is an attempt to not only bring us closer together as one group of beautiful black people by relaying the message that yes, “black is beautiful, and dark is too.” We have to start seeing people for their character, not for their exterior. In retrospect this is exactly what Martin Luther King Jr. fought for.

Yes, I don’t deny that we have a lot of work to do before we reach complete equality in this American society, but we ALL (white people, light people, and dark people) go through the feeling of not being accepted.

To treat someone differently or wrongfully based on a physical attribute that they have no control over, there is absolutely no logic in that.

I base the way that I treat someone on their actions and who they have proven themselves to be, not based on physical appearances. Our bodies are just housing our inner spirits… look beyond the outer appearance and see someone for who they truly are inside.

“I have a dream that one day, my children, and my children’s children, will be judged on the content of their character and not based on the color of their skin.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

This man lead the biggest change in our society as far as making life better for the African American race and here we are, closer than ever to actually reaching that goal… And ‘we,’ black people, can’t even provide an example, amongst one another, of everything that Martin Luther King Jr. stood for. How can we expect to be treated equally by people of other races, how can we expect to be, simply, ‘liked,’ by people of other races… when we don’t like ourselves? We tear each other down, over something as simple and as irrelevant as our skin complexion.  

We pre- judge based on color; if she’s light, she must be conceited, stuck up, think that she’s better than; and if she’s dark she’s probably loud, aggressive, angry at the world, ghetto, and simply not a pleasure to be around; if he’s light then he must think he’s good looking, puts himself up on a pedestal, all the girls want him; if he’s dark then he must've been to jail, we should hold our purse a little tighter, or he probably  -__- only likes light skinned girls.

These are the stereotypes; this is what we have diminished ourselves to. We must be better than this. We must look beyond these pre-conceived notions of ourselves that WE CREATED. These notions prevent one fellow black woman or man from simply speaking to the other. We must look beyond what we see and what we assume. Open our minds and open our hearts.

“...Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for equality by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

The self segregation that has engulfed the Black community must not lead us to a distrust of all light skinned people or dark skinned people, for many of our light and dark brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today (by the reading of this post), have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.” - Martin Luther King Jr ... with a few revisions.

Light skinned black people, are still black people and light skinned black people should not have to apologies to the black community for being fairer skinned. They don’t owe us an apology just as dark skinned black women and men do not owe anyone an apology for being black and LOOKING black.

It is also time that we acknowledge that yes, black is BEAUTIFUL and dark skin, wide noses, full lips, kinky hair, wide hips, and full breasts… all of those things that seem to define us ‘Black people’… those things are BEAUTIFUL too.

"We cannot walk alone (or in self segregated groups)

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

I love myself and I love my people. Everything that I post on here provided my dedication, will be something positive, educational, and hopefully opinion-ed to be uplifting by most, if not all.

I created this page and wrote these words to encourage unity within my community, to uplift my darker skinned females so that they are aware that they are just as beautiful as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Elle Varner, and Jhene Aiko (who are all… BLACK as well).

I am well aware that we live in a world where people love black culture (rap music, R&B, clothing style, and full figured women), but somehow we dislike black people (dark skin, kinky hair, and wide noses.)

Just to name off a few Chocolate Beauties: Kelly Rowland, Michelle, Gabrielle Union, Naomi Campbell, Nia Long, Alek Wek, Tatyana Ali, Lupita Nyong'o, Andrea Lewis, Melanie Fiona, and Lauryn Hill. 

   

We have to celebrate one another. God made us all different, yes, he placed his fingerprint on every single one of us. He blessed us all with different attributed that makes every single one of us individually awesome. “Another woman’s beauty is not the absence of your own.” 

I am not the Typical Black Girl