I think this will FOREVER be a topic amongst blacks! I have a lot of thoughts on it (too much to type). Although I think the media played on the “light skin vs- dark skin” disparity they are not the originators of this long, ongoing and perpetual cycle of self hate & discrimination within the black race. Heck Spike Lee even did a movie about this over 2 decades ago (School Daze) and it still plagues our communities. This started back in slavery (perhaps before than) when you had the field n!ggas (the dark skinned blacks) and the “house n!ggas” who were the lighter skinned more privileged (usually more affluent) blacks. I think this is a big reason why darker skinned men (and women too for that matter) tend to gravitate towards a lighter complected mate. My father is dark and (LO & BEHOLD) my mom is fair skinned. I came out in between…brown (LOL)! Considering I sit on the fence I have observed the treatment of both complexions. I can’t say I understand but I can definitely empathize with the pressures of Hollywood. It must be rough having to look a certain way and meet a certain criteria or standard of beauty to be deemed worthy or “acceptable” (smh). I just wish we could learn to love ourselves more. I think black is beautiful and love our many shades, complexions and textures of hair and skin. We are beautifully & wonderfully made :) .

Why is ppl still surprise about this debate. Read the letters of Willie Lynch. And dont be surprise if this mentality last for another last for another 100 yrs from now. At the end of the day light-skin and darkskin is still black.

There’s nothing great about being light skinned because you are still consider black and you will encounter racism one time in your life. It all has to do with confidence! If you dont like your GOD given complexion then shame on you and your low self-esteem. Some people tan to get a darker complexion and some people are too busy trying to lighten their skin to “fit it.” But that’s the f*cked up part about society, when it comes to all those changes, at the end of the day you will never be good enough. Love who you are. Self-confidence will always envy others who hate. Black is Beautiful!

I don’t know why there’s such a big deal over light vs dark….People who want to change their color to me I say are just not content with what they are like someone said previously it’s all about the self confidence/esteem….People who only choose a certain “color” of people don’t really have just reasons so I figure it’s just the “style” and are following a “trend”. I used to get upset about guys telling me they only date light women but since I’ve matured I’ve learned that it’s only their loss and I keep it movin lol ;)

whatever like everyone on here says we are all black period this s**t is really getting out of hand who gives a f**k ppl are always going to have their choice on what they like it’s their choice ppl get over it it’s nothing new…

smh….

Unfortunately, images of beautiful darker-complexioned Black women are not frequently displayed in media. For example, when Vanessa Williams won the Miss America title — even before the infamous porn photos — every media outlet internationally covered her pictured. Her likeness was emblazoned on magazines, newspapers, and television. Vanessa is a beautiful light-skinned, green-eyed African American woman. This is the image that Blacks are carefully taught to revere. However, when Kenya Moore, the former Miss USA, won her title, there was barely a peep. Kenya Moore being a drop-dead gorgeous, darker-complexioned Black women with “real hair” to the middle of her back was not the image that either “general population” media, or Black media wanted to project as the epitome of beauty. There are double-standards in the handling of publicity for the different color spectrum within our race. Another example, of our own double-standard is the way we assailed Tameka, Usher’s former wife. Again, Blacks just could not tolerate the fact that this beautiful, dark-skinned woman had scored this mega-millionaire, and we did everything in our power to belittle and defame her. (Tameka wrote about her treatment on Huffington-Post). It was disgusting, and it was indeed because of her darker complexion. If she was light skinned, she would have been embraced, and their marriage given the blessings of the mass.

We are all One — regardless of complexion. We have to admit that we are our own worse enemies when it comes to discriminating based on shade. When celebrities like Sammy Sousa, Lil Kim and Michael Jackson resort to lightening their skin is largely based on the feedback that they have gotten from the Black community, their families, their friends, their peers and media.

Thank goodness, not all Blacks are impacted by this sickness. The most powerful man in the free world (Barack Obama) is married to a dark-skinned woman (Michelle); a sistah who looks like a sistah in every way, and a sistah who Obama openly LOVES with all his heart. Her complexion did not effect his decision to love, honor and marry this highly intelligent and beautiful woman. Neither did complexion play a part in Denzel Washington’s choice for wife. (Denzel is one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, and his wife Paulette is dark). Samuel Jackson, another Hollywood power broker is also married to a dark skinned woman; as is the white billionaire who executive produced Star Wars.

The reason I pointed out a few Black men who chose dark-skinned women is because you never see these men in the media on the red carpet with their wives. It’s like somebody is trying to hide the fact that the dark-skinned woman is highly desirable and desired.

Finally, there is nothing so great about being light-skinned; neither is there something so bad about being light-skinned. It is just a shade in a wide color spectrum. There should be celebration and rejoicing for every complexion whether it be the bluest of black, or the lightest of light. WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL!

We need to g

In the words of the great Hip Hop culturist ED Lover “C’MON SON” WTF If all the garbage music out of the south wasnt bad enough now Sammy Sosa a white man

media says it is ….im not dont date dudes that are just my preference ..

Us dark skin men are still in style

i found these pictures quite horrible, why dont we celebrate as a people being dark/skined….. i confused…

[...] What’s So Great About Being Light-Skinned? [...]

Why is this always an issue? Seriously if someone is ugly they are ugly white,black,tan whatever! It has nothing to do with skin color.I see ugly lightskinned people sometimes. Ans Sammy Sosa looks ridiculous so does Lil Kim. Did she not realize how pretty she was already? Guess not!

I’m considered light to some and dark to the others but who cares? I prefer my man to be dark with dreads but I just so happen to be in love with a light-skinned man with a fade. My point is, everyone has a preferance but you never know who will come to your life and turn your views up-side down. Its better to keep it to yourself if you don’t plan on offending anybody and who is to say that a person’s preferance is written in stone. My cousin Lovely (Her name says it all) is chocolate-dark and she got most men (all races) up her ass since we were little even her sibling be laying out in the sun to get some more color. Ignorant men are so dumb and always end up putting their foot in their mouth when they see a beautiful dark-sistah that they can never haVe
and end up stalking her or taking it out on other dark women. Color is beautiful period. I won’t necessary say black because there are dark skinned Indians, Asian, Hispanics as well.

DAMN @ Nefertiti313

ARE U A GENIUS OR SOMETHING ! YOU GOT THAT SO DAMN RIGHT ! DAMN, U BROKE IT DOWN !

Has anyone ever heard the old saying that dark skinned women are evil? I don’t know where it came from I’ve heard it many times.

First, I would like to say that I find this very self centered. I remember when I was a teen growing up in Arkansas, My grandmother my mothers mom, would tell us how she made it to Arkansas, after her life on a plantation in Mississippi. Now, I am very glade that she explained this to me and my older sister at the time, I was not sure what her point was.”Yea we still had slave masters in the South.” Now, reading this I understand. My grandmother had twelve children, in which one is my mother. Okay, out of the twelve being that every type of race is on a plantation, my uncles, aunts, and my mother where all different shades of color. I only know ten of them because 2 died in Mississippi, My grandmother never told the story about them. Okay, out of ten there are and was 6 girls and 4 boys some have passed on. Now two of the girls were so light that they could pass for white, being one of the first to integrate the schools in the south, during Brown vs Board of Education, my mother , and her older sister where the two lightest. At the time my grandmother chose them to go thinking it would help them. I really can not explain why they are this color being that one was the oldest and my mother was the 4th child, the three in between were of dark skin. Well, I can call times my mother would say to me how they started with twelve going to school to integrate, and ended up with 6 before the end of the nines weeks. I remember her saying that they had to walk in groups because if not there would be a hanging. I never could understand why my granny sent my mother away, I remember her telling me that the Klan would kick the door in on several nights looking for my Aunt and my Mother to rape, I also met the women that hide them on those many nights. Needless say she was white. Now, the children they seem to be close and they all love each other now, dispute the difference that my grandmother made in them, however it took them until I was in my early 30″s to identify, what brother and sister truly means. Now, some of my cousins this relationship that my Grandmother, and my Aunts and Uncles had tore them apart they made dumb choices, living that drug and gang life, Well, I really never knew why my grandmother took to me so good after all she gave my mother away to a mixed couple, and my mother hated her for so long behind that, I am the lightest of the three of my mothers children, but our children my mothers grand children have my mothers skin color. They get picked on a lot being that they have the hair that would make think they are mixed. What I find strange it is by Blacks and Latinos that pick with them and test them. I can remember my mother telling me and my sisters that ” They are going to get picked on,” I know why she say this because my mother being that she can pass as a white woman always got picked on by the blacks, and of course beaten and spite on by the whites, I think she tell us this to keep us sound about our children and to help understand battles are to be picked. My, point is this when are we as a people just going to look at people not based on the skin. I KNOW this tore many generations, apart. Are we still willing to be torn and divided today based on our skin? I say ” yes” so torn on things and skin color, where are we and do more generations have to pay for this identity that was driven in us, we lost so much, I feel like we should just focus on getting back what is ours. and that is our identity. So ask, what is your identity?

y is it that some black ppl wanna be white and sum white ppl wanna be black?

People are people! In every race, there are good and bad people. All my life I heard Lighter skin women think they are cute.Has anyone heard that other then me? Coming from a family of women who all have light skin, We didnt make ourself (Master probley had a lot to do with it LOL) But seriously,What Counts is whats in the heart of people!!!!!!!!!!!!

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

I LOVE MYSELF THE WAY I AM. I THINK I’M GREAT! I WOULD NEVER BLEACH AWAY MY COFFEE, COCO, CARAMEL COLOR!

Ppl still letting the Willie Lynch letter days rule their weak and feeble minds. This is one of the reasons I can’t stand ignorant black folks. It’s been 400 yrs now and you mean to tell me a dumb dead white cracka still control the minds of dumb black folk! Just plain ole’ pathetic!

Who cares…

OMG NOOOOOOOOOOT this SH^IT again. Cmon HB get the FU^CK out of HERE with this BULLSH^IT.

A monkey never thinks her baby’s ugly.
Haitian Proverb

msveevee1, U SAID IT ALL

Nerfititi said it best. it is strange how the media emphasizes on black men who are married to light skinned women but not black men who have been happily married to a dark skinned women for years.Nor does the media emphasize on dark skinned women who are married to white men or is in some sort on interracial relationship.commericials such as GAP/Old Navy always usually has a black man and or light skinned male or female but never a dark skinned female.just an observation.The hot topics morning show “The View” includes two dark skinned women along with the other 3 white women. now tell me what show,a predomin. caucasion film or talk show has more than 1 black person?almost never.its like they just want to add 1 black person just to avoid being called racist.This topic is old but very much does still exist in this planet.Having a hard time believing that this topic will ever die…

I agree with you unstopable. I mean almost every light skin person you can name dates only dark skinned people. I don’t see to many light skinned black men getting put out there for only dating dark skinned women. When did chocolate become light skinned anyway. I mean some of the women weren’t even light skinned. This is so sad that stuff like this is still being pushed. Yes there are people who only date light, just like there are people who only date dark. Why you never hear about them. What is only dating dark skinned people acceptable, but dating light skinned is racist. Black is black people.

SMH THIS SHOULDN’T EVEN BE A DAMN TOPIC ON BLACKPLANET KEY WORDS BLACK AND PLANET WHERE EVERY COLOR OF BLACKS IS WELCOME BECAUSE IT IS OUR PLANET SO EVERY COLOR IS ACCEPTED…AND PEOPLE REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE U GOT TO BE LIGHT U GOT TO BE DARK U GOT TO BE TALL U GOT TO BE SHORT JUST U GOT TO STFU PLEASE AND LIVE LIFE AS LONG AS U CAN THATS WHAT I PLAN ON DOING DUECES****

Really, what difference does it make. Besides, the whole conversation is really ignorant. I am light skinned and it hasn’t gained me anything in life. I have had to work for what I wanted! I have dated dark and light skinned men; so what’s up with the myths that our European counterparts help create and now us black folks perpetuate it! I am insulted by this article. It is not responsible journalism. You guys have nothing to do and if you can just write up idiotic stuff like this and get paid, then give me a job, I am an excellent creative writer looking for work.

Stop comparing light skinned people to these celebrities who are naturally darker and made their skin lighter.

I’m horrofied by these so called celebs lithning there beatifull dark skin > Why if anything they look after the color change much older and why use that much make up ? In my mind these people are stupid and they became ugly .

This is a VERY good article. The article is not the problem for pointing out and issue that is very real. People like Michael Jackson (RIP) who wanted to have “White” kids so they would not have to go through the issues he went through, to Wanda Sykes who had a white child with her “French” wife (As she joked “So if something happens to me then my French, white wife wont have to be stuck trying to do her hair”)

Even Tyra did a show on woman who bleach their childrens skin??? WTF?

I am light in complexion and when I was growing up I would have issues with people who (Without knowing me) assumed just because I was light in complexion that I was going to be stuck up etc. And if it wasn’t that then people were wanting to make babies with me because they felt I would give the baby my “good hair” ???

People really need to grow up and be happy with themselves, light, dark whatever! Get off this “good hair” crap and go with what you know.

It’s real simple. Due to a “slave mentality” there are a lot of black people who in more than one way try to emulate another ethnic group, because of psychologically rooted self-hate. These “stars” did it because they can afford it. And Sosa is full of it, that cream that he’s using has been popular in southern Europe for years, and it’s STRICTLY for whitening of the skin. Obvious being stated, Hello Beautiful needs to write some decent articles instead of the perpetuating colorist drivel……..

I cant believe that i am actually reading this dumb s**t! What is wrong with the world today? I mean what does my light skin color have to do with how or if I am accepted in world. My light skin came from my Light skinned mother and my Dark skinned father. My hair is not curly or bone straight but it is wavy when it is time for me to perm my hair. People with money obviously are sad and depressed and have a high dose of low self esteem. One would think that being priveledged would make a person find more costructive things to with their time and money. There are homeless men, women and children who need shelter from the upcoming winter season and you have the time to write about the color of black folks skin? Interesting!!!!!!!!

P.Diddy and Omarion will say and do anything to make money, so its not a surprise that two dark skinned men with money are still mentally enslaved. You can’t learn from people who rap, sing and dance for a living,when thats all they do and all they know. Who never changes the dialect of conversation and communication with one another,to better understand themselves as a culture. And about Sammy Sosa, he’s fighting his own Rican war, they all feel more spanish than black these days, because they are.

all I have to say is WOW to the comments and wow to celebrity with $$$ and have absolutely nothing else to do with it.

seems like SOME OF OUR COMMENTERS ARE ALSO LIVING IN DENIAL and confused.now I’m sorry if this offends you or it might even break you down and tear you apart…..BUT SOME OF YOU THAT HAVE recently POSTED AND CLAIMED to be LIGHT SKINNED…..LOL HOW R U DO’N????????????youll are far from being light skinned @ all.so if you havent gotten very far in life or have to work for everything you have, it might be bc your human and thats what humans do or it may very much be bc you are IN ACTUALITY still very much DARK just like the next sista or brotha!Lets just KEEP IT REAL!!

it is sad that in this day and age,the mentality is still their and is now noticeably effecting our brothas.For a black man bleaching his skin every night for instant results merely to fit in the trend of light skin brothas ummm WHAT WERE U THINK’N? Sammy Sossa’s case was a little to abrupt, i mean what happened in his life btwn last year and now that would make him do that? could be the drugs he injects from time to time.

I AM OUT OF WORDS.YOU’LL LIVING IN DENIAL ARE A DISGRACE TO ALL BLACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get really tired of black men who tell me how attractive I am because I’m light-skinned with “good hair” (rolling my eyes). They will only date white women or fair-skinned women and I think it is a deep psychosis for someone not to want to be with someone dark because of their fear of having a dark baby.

And why is it that people think that all multiracial people are good looking, just because they are “mixed”? So not true!

[...] What’s so great about being light skinned? TAGS: Sammy Sosa, whiteface Share with Friends! [...]

..and just to clarify, I meant many (not ALL) of the black men that I have encountered have mentioned this.

Kind of goofy yes Kim and Sosa have taken it to far almost like MJ but the others photos are just different lighting, duh! I watched a show on pbs about the cream and how alot of Africans in Africa used this skin bleaching product. I was like really , you are in Africa! Maybe being light skin I will never understand it but dark skin is so beautiful, all shades are beautiful why would you want to change!

Thanks 4 the correcting candybox,you adding to the problem when explaining the color thing by making it only about yourself, you didn’t speak not one word on the actual comment. I know you mean well but talking about wanting to have black babies I gotta say something and if you know some dude that dumb to say that about someone who looks like himself, you should run away from him, better yet have a baby with that N, so there could be three narrow minded people,lite and dark skinned…

Thank you Hello Beautiful for the post!.. Ok Lil kim looks like pinocchio!.. WOW!.. it is sad.. Sammy.. What happen?.. Who made you feel so sad about out complexion?..

WHY YALL KEEP TALKIN BOUT THIS LIGHT SKINNED DARK SKINNED S**T?? DOES IT MATTER ITS JUST A DAMN SKIN COLOR JUST LIKE WE DONT WANT WHITE PEOPLE TO TREAT US DIFFRENTLY BECAUSE OF OUR SKIN COLOR……YALL DONE LET THESE WHITE PEOPLE GET TO YALL…. YALL DONT WANT WHITE PEOPLE TO BE RACIST TO US BUT WE DO IT TO OUR ON DAMN SELVES??? MAYBE THEY DONT WANT TO BE LIGHT SKINNED MAYBE THEY WANT TO BE WHITE PEOPLE AND YALL JUST THINKIN BOUT IT TO HARD.. PLUS THE PEOPLE YALL SHOW GOT PROBLEMS ANYWAY SO WHY WASTE UR TIME ASKIN THAT DUMB ASS QUESTION??? WE GOT TO DO WAY BETTER MAN THIS LIGHT DARK THING IS VERY IGNORANT!!!!!

PLUS MAYBE THESE PEOPLE THINK THAT IF THEY HAVE WHITE SKIN THEN THEY WILL BE ACCEPTED CAUSE WHITE PEOPLE CAN GET AWAY WITH MORE THAN BLACK PEOPLE SO ITS NOT THE FACT OF BEING LIGHT SKINNED ITS THE FACT OF BEIN WHITE!!!! NOT LIGHT SKINNED WHITE!!!!!!

I just cannot beleive that this topic relevant. Who cares about the color when beautiful people come in every shade. I am light because my ancestors were white but my beautiful grandmother, my mother, and also my best friend on the other hand are all very dark. Tho they are simply gorgeous they were negatively affected by this sorta crappy talk as children and it left them all confused about whether they could show love to lighter skinned persons. It is a conversation that I feel is rediculous and like many on the site outdated. The AA race is so blessed to have so many beautiful shades of color to choose from. Some men only date and prefer women that are dark. That is their perogative and frankly I say more power to them. I am married to a man that is the color of a jar of peanut butter and we both have a thing for chocolate all the while I am considered by most to be on the darker side of vanilla. I love the assortment because it would get pretty boring if we all were the same shade of BLACK!! Stop the self HATRED!! When any of us walk our black selves into a building and then turn to leave, unless we are being pick out a police lineup people will always say there goes a black person. Let’s just love each other any thing else is nonsense!!

FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY LET GOD’S WORK SHINE THROUGH AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO EVOLVE. I WOULD HATE TO SEE YOU TRY TO ANALYZE JESUS CHRIST COMPLEXION TRAVELLING THROUGH THE DESERT AND SEAS FROM TOWN TO TOWN. FROM AGE TO AGE TO AGE, SEASONALLY, AND ACCORDING TO WHAT WE PUT IN OUR BODIES WE CHANGE COLORS AUTOMATICALLY. HAVE YOU “WRITER FROM HELLO BEAUTIFUL WHO CHOSE THIS TOPIC” EVER SEEN ANY OF THESE PEOPLE AT HOME BEFORE HAIR AND MAKE-UP. DO WE ACTUALLY KNOW HOW THEY REALLY LOOK? BY THE TIME WE GET THESE PICTURES THEY ARE EDITED AND AIRBRUSHED OUT OF THEIR WAZOO. NOT TO MENTION THE QUALITY OF OUR COMPUTERS AND PRINTED MATERIALS. HOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT SOMETIMES THESE PEOPLE SPEND MORE TIME IN THE SUN THAN OTHER TIMES, SAY WINTER VS SUMMER OR SPRING VS FALL WHICH WOULD CHANGE A SKIN COLOR SEASONALLY? HOW ABOUT WE DON’T ALL USE THE SAME MAKEUP AND MAKEUP ARTISTS WHEN WE PERFORM? DID YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU BUY BRONZE MAKEUP FROM ONE MANUFACTURER OR BRAND TO THE OTHER IS DIFFERENT? HOW ABOUT THAT? AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST HOW ABOUT WHEN WE ARE INCARCERATED OR OTHERWISE RECLUSE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND THE TOXINS FROM (DRUGS, ALCOHOL, FOODS, ETC ETC ETC) OF OUR PREVIOUS CHOSEN LIFESTYLES COME OUT OF OUR BODY THUS CLEARING UP OUR SKIN, HOW ABOUT THAT?
HOW ABOUT WE SEE SOME OF YOUR PICTURES THROUGH THE YEARS AND SEE HOW YOU HAVE EVOLVED? HOW ABOUT WE SEE YOU BEFORE AND AFTER MAKEUP? HOW ABOUT THAT? BOTTOM LINE THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE WAY PEOPLE LOOKED YEARS AGO COMPARED TO THE WAY THEY LOOK NOW. GET A LIFE!!!

I MISS THE OLD RIHANNA :(

Thank you BonSante!! I agree with your post 100%! It is very obvious that many different things cause changes in our appearance and it doesn’t have anything to do with wanting to be light skinned!! Whenever this subject comes up it seems like everyone has something to say, but it doesn’t really matter!! Us light skinned women can’t help that we were born light skinned just like the darker women can’t help how they were born! Don’t attack us! Beauty comes in all complexions and we need to stop pitting ourselves against each other! Thats what the white people want us to do. Divide and conquer! Hell no! People need to learn to love themselves and their sisters and brothers and stop all this hate!!

I’m light skinned (almost white) and I think it is great because I can eat as much watermelon as I want to and no one says a word. :))
bj

bj24681357 don’t quit your day job!!!!!!!!!!

Judging from Sammy Saoa appearance I say let’s be happy with how GOD creates us please!

First thing I want to say peeps..skin color preference has always been part of all societies.in its most prevervse form it is racism! or cast system. all overthe world all cultures have their worst in its incorparation power and supression of civl and human rights and genocide..and I sure we can agree. on those levels of hatred it immorale and digusting!
But what we see today When a person lightens or dakens their skin cosmeticaly for whatever, their reasons that is their right, to do so, whether or not it makes them more or ,less,atractive to themleves or others is matter of personal taste, to the former or the latter! People should stop the hating and finger pointing on allsides of this topic.Me personally I’am happy in my own skin! the way God made me! I may not agree with some celebs change thier appearnce..like Lil Kim I thougt she was cuter and prettier before she made her changes, but I don’t hate on her for doing it..that’s what,freedom of choice is!
I she had wanted to make self darker I would have the same opinion So what !
I will be honest I was always so sure how I felt on this as a child growing up though inthe 50/60s
There was alots racism then even amongst black folks, negroes, coloured peolpe and afro/americans…depending where I went through those times , caught hell either I was too ‘light or too dark’… got into fights for both for both reasons all through grade= highscool, same with the girls/women when dating wasnt black enough or too much black ! these things werenot occuring all the time but enuogh to make me think alot about it..
I finally reach the point to realize people re gonna think whatever no matter what I said ,did, or believed .So I just decided not worry about it anymore and just br the best that I could be!
So stop the hating about what shade a person is and what they decide to do or not do about it..Life is too short! just TCB for your self and stop worring about things others do! Respect your own individuality ,..really do it and you wont be so worried what other people do. Light bright or not so white who cares get over youseleves and over it’, My peeps God loves diversity otherwise we all been made the color and no free will! or choice!

Talk about can’t see the forest for the trees…

Some of y’all really need to pull your heads out of your asses every once in a while and look around, cause y’all be missing some s**t. Okay? We live in a society that HATES us. I didn’t say mildly dislikes or has issues with. I said HATE to the point of, “if it wasn’t illegal, I’d kill you and your whole family right here in the kitchenware isle at Walmart. I’d blast you all to Kingdom Come and go out and celebrate with a pizza and a case of beer afterwards and consider it a job well done.” That’s where we are currently living and trying to survive, black people, and anybody that don’t know that by now is a serious dumb ass. Go look on the sidebar over at News One – story after story of racism and hatred directed towards BLACKS.

Now having said that, here you are a black person trying to BE SOMEBODY in the middle of all that. I don’t care how strong and resilient you are, SOME OF THAT NEGATIVE S**T IS GONNA GET TO YOU and screw you up a little bit. To me, these people are trying their damndest to get some respect for their art and nobody’s giving it to them because they’re not “the status quo”, so I see them, much like Michael Jackson, may he RIP, doing things to themselves to be accepted. Do I hate it? Yes, but I don’t hate them. I can’t because I know where it comes from and I know why it’s happening. I’m sick and f**king tired of seeing my people growing up feeling bad about themselves because they live in a society that hates them. I say, let’s not attack the victims of the s**t and get to kickin’ the asses of the perpetrators of this kind of s**t. BOYCOTT some of these mofos and when they start getting POOR like us, see how fast they change their tune. Think I don’t know what I’m talking about? Having Bush in office the past 8 years opened a whole lot of folks’ eyes. When people who previously HAD S**T starting losing (in a big way) what they had, suddenly they felt more concerned about OUR plight, can you dig it? Previous to that happening, NOBODY GAVE A CRAP BECAUSE IT WASN’T THEIR PROBLEM, it was OURS. Now that you see more formerly affluent people sitting in the POORHOUSE next to your black ass, they’re a lot more friendly and helpful, aren’t they? Ha!

Light-skinned don’t mean S**T. If you ain’t got no REAL money and no REAL power, you just hanging on by a thread just like everybody else.

lol every other week they have to post another article about skin color on here…

and I’m thinking….seriously, what’s the point?….These discussions don’t ever go any where – so why bother with them?? Can’t we find something a little bit more interesting, a little bit more relevant, a little bit more intellectual 2 talk about?…Is the color of our skin really thaaaat significant?

It’s amazing that you have someone like a P Diddy who hates himself so much. I mean rich or not he can’t even close his mouth all the way LOL!!! I can completely understand the anger over continuing to hear the whole light skinned dark skin thing because it’s us as a community that feul this ignorance more then any other race. There is more self hate going on then us being hated by other races. This is not a blind subject but it is a sore one. I mean it’s always been pushed that light skinned is better but you know what… You can’t change everyones opinion so it starts with yourself. My daughter has been pegged as being mixed and one teacher even checked multi racial on some of her forms. They have met both me and dad who just look like two fare skinned people. I teach my child to be proud of being 100% African American and not get caught up in the whole I have good hair and ight skin ignorance. I also teach my daughter what it means to be an back because of the struggles that we as a people have endured for centuries and also the fight from different leaders who have fought for her just to be able to attend school so when you think of denying your race because honey the ones you so long to be like are the same ones who consider you beneath you so do with that what you will and to each it’s on…..

BonSante you said it all there’s really no need for anymore comments for real. Sammy and Lil’ Kim look like a damn ghost. bj24681357 what the hell being light skin and eating watermelon have to do with anything?

The title should be changed to:

WHATS SO GREAT AOBUT BLEACHING YOUR SKIN”

Im sorry but unless someone is suffering with a skin disease, some people are meant to be the natural color they are.
And I could care less if these people in a bathtub 10 times a day, you wil ALWAAAYS BE BLAAACK!! ALWAYSS!!! Or look like a freak of nature. Either way…they will NEVER BE WHITE…EVER!! lol

LMAO! light skin and bleach skin rivalry CONTINUES LOL! maybe, its because light skin people don’t complain about their color or make it an issue like others. either way, you should love yourself for who you are. if you dont that is your decision and delima. its no one elses business to judge you based off your personal decision of the ideal beauty or surgical enhancements to make your pyschological mental stability better.

This so repulsive. It’s sad that in this day and age, so many blacks are still so damn ignorant!

Some of those people, obviously Sammy Sosa and Lil’ Kim bleached their skin. People’s skin color can vary based on the lighting, the season, make-up, clothing, photo re-touching, etc. So to argue over whether these people changed their skin color is stupid. However I did wonder about those Essence magazine covers. I sure did notice that when they had the 3 women on their, all of them appeared to be the same skin color. Also, another thing I noticed about that magazine. They have Queen Latifah, Beyonce, and others with similar skin tones or lighter on the cover A LOT. My skin color can vary a lot from season to season and year to year because I get very dark tans and I think I just get blacker too.

IT COULD ONLY MEAN A COUPLE OF THINGS, YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE COLOR YOU WERE BORN WITH, SERIOUS SKIN PROBLEMS, YOU WANT TO LOOK CLOSER TO SOMEONE OF ANOTHER RACE AND NOT YOUR OWN, A SERIOUS HATE FOR THE BEAUTIFULNESS OF BEING BLACK. THE BLACKER THE SWEETER. AMEN.

LMAO, damn sammy you look like a dayum fool

I don’t usually co-sign with people on here, but well said chictatious1. It seem like the only people who have a problem with their skin color are the darker ones. Mostly everyone else is chill with theirs. I said mostly because there is a small portion of light people who try to darken up, but it’s nothing compared to the large portion of darker people who try to lighten up. I don’t think it’s only because of what the media portrays as beauty. I think it’s more to it than that… but what?

I’m Dark and lovely and I don’t date light skin men, Cuz their body stinks! I love white men, But I prefer my chocolate men over light skin men.

he looks like a gotdarn FOOL!

YAWN and LMAO @ those with that mentality that light or dark is “better”

this is life. If u didnt realized that theres a lot of ugly in the world and that you cant rely on nobody but yourself and your faith….then I dont know what to tell you but plz..by all means PLZ!! keep all that to yourself because the media just loves writing about this crap

either learn to love yourself or stay the way you are and keep it to yourself or “correct” it. I don’t know how many people had/have to lay down their lives, how many times oprah or tyra or (whatever!) gotta say something, or how many services you gotta hear–in order to realize that YOU have to love yourself before anything

YAWN

ppl r goin to do what they want to do if they have a problem with their color then they r goin to do something about it… we all have our own problems sweep around yo own front door

ppl r goin to do what they want to do if they have a problem with their color then they r goin to do something about it… we all have our own problems sweep around yo own front door…

Folks need 2 start loving them selves the way they are!!!

We are all fearfully and wonderfully made…

IM LIGHTSKINNED AND HEY WHAT CAN I SAY “CHICKS DIG IT” (REMEMBER THA GEORGE MURESAN COMERCIAL WIT THA COLOGNE)

AND OH YEA SAMMY SOSA LOOKS A MESS

I am a smooth beatiful dark-skinned woman and I love dark-skinned men. But to suggestion that people feeling that lighter is better is something new is just crazy. These type of thoughts stem from the days of salvery when the lighter you were the closer to white people you could get. And for people to still believe that the closer to white the better is beyond me, especially when tanning is a billion dollar industry. And, to light-skinned people, love you too, but you will not get any pitty from me. No matter how many “terms” they come up with for being light, you will not miss out on any opprotunties, and in lots of cases will be given more opprotunities because of your complexion. So to hear you complain about being called “redbone,” is insulting to me, who has been called worse, and given less opprotunities. It’s something like white people complain that about a black president, when there has been 43 white ones, it’s insulting.To all my dark-skinned brothers and sisters, stop thinking that a light skinned person is better then yourself because of their complexion and centuries old anglo-sexon ways, that’s like believing in Santa Claus. Bye

i am lightskinned but i have a dark skinned daughter and it burns me up when people say awww she is so cute to be dark…. what the hell does that mean? i dont judge people by the color of their skin, i judge people on their actions and how they treat me and others around them. it is so sad that in this day and time this is even a conversation peice. we must stop the hate and disrespect in our own race before we can expect someone else to do it.

lightskin or darkskin does it really matter????? in the end we are human beings…my only note is Rihanna of course her skin colour wud chgn being that she is from the caribbean…..

There’s nothing better about being light skinned. I’m carmel and would never change that. Sammy looks ridiculous by the way! LMBAO!!!!!

I remember years back people were tripping off on why Chico Debarge always dated or had a dark skinned female in his videos. WTH! I figured that some folks assumed that since he was light skin that he was only subject to dating only light-skin women. i tell you.

Why is everyone of you guys dodging reality? Having lived in all black country before, I can voucher that even within Black people, we believe lighter skin is beautiful than dark skin. Before you guys go crazy about my statement, I didn’t say white skin, I said LIGHTER skin. It has been planted in every magazine, TV etc that brighter is better. Do I personally believe that? maybe yes maybe no, but majority carry the votes.

It doesn’t matter what color you are but I can say that I am tired of being hated on because of my lightskinnedness. Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful dammit!!!!

i think it is so tacky when people say i date only light skin, or i only like “redbone” women. i am black and puerto rican and i just so happen to be very light skined, and i hate when people degrade darker skin i think dark skin is beautiful, i think all shades of skin are beautiful. be proud of your color no matter if you are light dark or inbetween. and also the media needs to embrace all colors and not push light or damn near white so much this is crazy this is the very reason there is so much devison in the black community because we are still so worried about color..smh come people black is beautiful no matter the shade.

why Rihanna & Beyonce’s facer are darker in those other pictures is because its BRONZER! eww. Kim HoDashians legs look a mess. exercise more, shop less.

I know a lot of people like that . its like people who do not like big girls. you like what you like. some dark skinned people do not like light skinned people.its sad

wow…this story is great…. but being light skined is kool..but i noticed alot of mans perfer a light skined lady… i feel comfrontable being light skined..but i dont like the attention..that i get from alots of mans… i have all type of races tryna get at me… but i always will feel comfrontable if i was dark skined…i no have a problem with skin color i feel the darker the beautyful u are….

omg I agree @ pooh-pooh314…So what if you are dark and so what if you are light skinned…if you aren’t somebodys preference then why do you care? Video girls and commercial models are of lighter skin…regular and high fashion models tend to be darker and get paid more so people get informed and stop whining. Being a video vixen isn’t much to brag about for they make bad reps for themselves, so people should want more from our people then “backing it up” in these tacky videos.

Another thing I cant stand and what makes blacks look very ignorant is when people says stupid things like “most men what lighter females”…ummm how the he11 do u know? Yal go home with all that lmao. Lets stop amusing those “white folks” out there.

“the darker the more beautiful u are”

WRONG

Black/african descent is beautiful period no matter what shade

piddy guest list….he should b ashame of hiself…. i cant stand dat b***h!

bj24681357…….SHUT YA ASS UP!

Im mixed black and white and i get hated on all the time by black people, saying im not ethnic looking enough or im too light skinned to be black…aint s**t special bout being light skinned, we getting hated on just like everybody else…. I love me, you should love you and dont worrie bout noone else but yourself. Diddy know he wrong for that s**t tho…

Lmao these mixed hoes be thinkin som1 hatin on them lmao just cuz they mixed!!!…….which I don’t know why and I have plenty of mixed friends that I love ; who not ignorant though. As far as what is good about it??? What tell me lmao BLACK DONT CRACK most of them all look alike!! I’m black and I’m proud dark brown And PROUD!!!!!!!!

I’m light-skinned, and I’m 100% african-american and I don’t see what the big deal is, as far as ligh-skinned women and dark-skinned women. My mom is dark-skinned, and I used to get pissed when people that I went to high school with would ask me if my mom was “african”. I mean, what is that? I don’t get hated on by dark-skinned women, I don’t see why women are hating on women anyway, especially on a color issue, that you can’t help, because u were born that way. As far as the celebrities dating ligh-skinned women, or dark-skinned women, do u see light-skinned women hating on dark-skinned women. Black is black, whether its dark or light. Thats what I think

The darker the berry the sweeter the juice puc aint lyin………

I like all flavors ladies :)

I love every shades of black from light to dark it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day we all come from one creator and thats god.

nothing is special about having a light complexion. it onlt means that you are a product of rape. you are praising that your grandmothers were thrown down and forced to have the sex that eventually led to you. you’re a product of the devils’ rape. stupid

Whats wrong with being African. You should take that as a compliment cuz at the end of the day we all Africans. We just don’t know which Africans countries we are from. Am black and i love me for me and am not going to beat myself myself down coz am not light skinned.
I have lots of light skinned friends and i love them. God created all of us in his image so to me that’s all that matters.

thank you waynelaboy, that was well said. that just goes to show that ain’t nothing was special about being forced to be a bellywarmer and even be a decented of one, because you are lighter. you shouldn’t be walking around thinking you are better than others, when the blood of your ancestors scream out through your color or your skin,telling a story about how your family members who were dark skin were force to push out baby after baby, for sex and profit, you think you better now get a grip_next

check your history i know mine, by the way i am not hating i’m light skin too.

Oh my the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice MAN came from that blackness, I luv a black man-the blacker the better, my father was a dark skin man, my brother is one, and I have a daughter thats dark skinned & beautiful. It comes from a slave mentality-Uncle sam has raped Africa and we became fair skinned & favored more and treated a lil, just a little better. I don’t think light skin is more attractive to me the most beautiful is dark brown with confidence. WE NEED TO BE DE WILLIE LYNCHED. STOP IT HOUSE NIGGA & FIELD NIGGA! Get it to gether as the song states. As for DIDDY or ANY OTHER person that wants to change how they look, more power to them. We have been told for so many years my mainstream media, mags etc., whats beautiful that we believe the hype. Beauty is a billion dollar industry. WAKE-UP!

PMS…black is beautiful! Newsflash! if u are black..then u are beautiful! look at me!

this stereotype is so retarted that women who aren’t even close 2 being dark are bleaching their skin. Even these celebrities who represent this “so called” perfection get cracked on.

Now thats some Ole’ Bull Sh*t!

another IGNORANT article!
HB stop being ridiculous

healthy is sexxxy fake is NOT

WMsHURRICANEW Its Not An Ignorant Article I Dont Think . It’s Life , I Think The Want For Light Skin Comes From Slavery When White Men Or Women Would Have The Light Skinned African American In The House Where As They’d Have The Dark Skinned African American Out Doors . And The Darker Toned Person Would Build Hatred Toward The Lighter Toned And Thats Where The Divid Between Darker And Lighter Tone Began . Beauy Is In The Eye Of The Beholder But When It Comes To The Ignorant Remarks Like The Ones Diddy Made Show Self Hatred And Plain Ignorance ! Im A Fair Toned African American But Personally I Think Darker Tone Women Are Beautiful !

[...] What’s So Great About Being Light-Skinned? [...]

[...] What’s So Great About Being Light-Skinned? [...]

I was born in New York and I never once witness any ridicule for being dark skinned. I have a beautiful complexion no acne and just smooth with minor war scars…….I later move to North Carolina during my teenage years and caught pure hell. I was teased, called all kind of degrading names for being dark skinned. I kind of felt it was jealousy because their were plenty of pretty light skinned black women but I had a the pleasure of being “pretty for a dark skinned girl” (wow)as they would put it so that singled me out. The light skinned girls felt superior. They stayed out of the sun not having fun to keep their tone while I sat in the sun and enjoyed my self . While they hid I was getting the attention so they started to come out a little more. Then they would try to to make me look and feel as if I was so ugly. I grew up and showed them that I could get what I wanted without being light skinned or fluzy like and I could even take theirs…if I wanted to also.

lol i find this really funny cuz im lightskinned… but i absolutely love getting tanned during the summer as i go out more & hopefully swim & have vacations etc…. it makes me feel even prettier & i think i look a bit more exotic when im darker… maybe that’s just me…

[...] What’s So Great About Being Light-Skinned? [...]

WOWZERS WHEN WILL THIS EVER END? AS A LIGHTSKIN WOMAN AND A MOTHER THIS HURTS MY HEART…THIS WHOLE “WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT BEING LIGHT SKINNED SO GREAT”? SPARE ME!!! FOR YEARS AND STILL TODAY I’VE BEEN RIDICULE FOR MY COMPLEXION…INSTEAD OF CHOOSING SIDES AND FINDING ABSOLUTLY STUPID RESOLUTION WITH THIS SUBJECT US AS BLACK WOMEN,WE NEED TO CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY AND REALIZE WE COME IN MORE COLORS THAN JUST THE STANDARD STEREOTYPES OF WHAT BLACK SHOULD BE OR NOT BE..THIS IS B.S. ON SO MANY LEVELS…YO LISTEN UP REAL ISH THIS WHAT WHITE PEOPLE WANT US TO DO SO WE CAN NEVER UNITE AND PEOPLE OF LOOK AT US LIKE WERE SAVAGES WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT US AS BLACKS (whether ur black american or international black!)US AS BLACK WOMEN NEED TO UNITE AND CUT THIS OUT IT A CANCER THAT CAN AND WILL DESTROY US AS A WHOLE…REMEMBER THIS WE COME FROM GREATNESS AND INCREDIBLE STRENGTH….IGNORANCE WILL EAT US ALIVE AND WHERE WILL BE?