

They found that a "light-skinned male could have only a Bachelor’s degree and typical work experience and still be preferred over a dark-skinned male with an MBA and past managerial positions"(Harrison 2006).

Before Lee shed light on the subject, it was a topic that was swept under the table but because of his influence, the problem was brought to national attention.Ī 2006, University of Georgia study showed that employers prefer light skinned black men to dark skinned men, regardless of their qualifications.

#Color war black darkest movie#
Because of such ignorance, the movie received a lot of criticism after its premiere. Both groups of women use many derogatory words to describe each which shows how ignorance is still apparent even within one’s own race. One famous scene from the movie involves two groups of women, one group light skinned, and the other dark skinned, as they argue in a hair salon about which group has good hair. Filmmaker, Spike Lee, commented on this problem in the movie School Daze, where he exposed the problems between light and dark skinned individuals attending a historically black college. Although she may not agree with some of the ideas her team are putting together to make up her image, it has since propelled her to superstardom.Įven today,some people who are lighter-skinned consider themselves superior to (and more attractive than) darker-skinned Americans. Now why is this you ask? Predictions can be made that in order for her to move up the ladder in the music world, she had to gain crossover appeal by changing her appearance to fit the pop demographic that her managers wanted her to meet. It is clear to the reader that she has altered her appearance. As her popularity arose, she began to seem more increasingly "light". When looking at some celebrities, for instance Nicki Minaj, there has been a drastic change to her appearance since she first came on to the scene. In American culture, whiteness and more of a European "look" is considered the norm, and as a result, blackness is associated with lesser status. That child is left with that idea stuck in the back of their head throughout life and this idea can be the base of all of the future problems the person has with their self image as an adult. What many people fail to realize is that children are still developing and in prepubescent kids especially, criticism such as being called ugly and being told you will amount to nothing, can have a substantial effect on the sanity of someone so young.
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According to the author of “Exploring the Impact of Skin Tone on Family Dynamics and Race-Related Outcomes,” Evidence suggests that racial socialization helps foster the adjustment of children in the face of race-related adversity and serves to protect youth from negative mental health consequences (Hughes, 2006).

That was the norm for Davis back during her childhood. Imagine seeing a little girl who had all of her self confidence ripped from her before she entered the 6th grade. In an interview with Essence Magazine, actress Viola Davis discusses how, as a child, she too felt the pain of being called an assortment of derogatory terms and shares how after a while, she began to believe that she in fact, was ugly (). Growing up as a child in a place where being ridiculed and made fun of because your skin is of a darker complexion is one thing that most Americans couldn’t even imagine. African Americans should stop using skin color to discriminate against each other because it hinders the progression of the entire black community. What a person makes of themselves and all of their aspirations should be what they’re judged on - not their skin color. With no thanks to the media and its influence on what is seen as beautiful, Black America is tearing itself apart when it focuses on such a shallow aspect of a person that they can’t control. As a culture that came from years of oppression and hatred inflicted by slave owners, forced to think that because of their color, they were inferior, blacks have somehow reverted back to having this sort of mindset which is, in fact, hurting them as a whole. This is a very hot and taboo subject among the African American community. The effects of the African American self-hate toward each other because of one’s skin color is rather eye opening and sad, to say the least. Lighter skin is often preferable to darker skin. In many different cultures and countries around the world, skin color plays a huge role in the concept of beauty.
