Once we stop denying colorism, address it on it’s head, and stop dismissing dark skin individuals especially dark skin women who vent about the affects of colorism this stuff can stop happening.
In the fourth grade, we had to pick an inventor, dress like the inventor, and explain our invention. I decided to pick something off the wall (instead of, like, a light bulb), so I ended up doing my little presentation as George Crum. I remember reading about his work as a chef, learning about his shortness with customers, and the interaction (possibly apocryphal, although Crum certainly invented the potato chip) with the diner who kept complaining about his home fries being too thick.
I literally made a presentation as this man, and used a few websites and a couple encyclopediae (yeah, I’m old) to source all the data. I certainly know more than most people do about George Crum.
The point of all this is that, until I came across this post on Tumblr, I had absolutely no idea he was black. I’ve known who Crum was for over twenty years and never knew his race, because no website or encyclopedia thought it was worth mentioning.
Erasure is a fucking disease.
Wait @aurric if you had to dress like him for the presentation, wouldn’t you have had to look up a picture reference? How would you not know he was black?
It was 1995. I found encyclopedia articles and some old websites that referenced him as a chef, but never as a Black or Native man.
Afro-Latinos face many challenges when it comes identity, particularly when people refuse to believe that being Black AND Latino aren’t mutually exclusive experiences.
The Latino identity denotes an ethnicity, which means that Latinos exist in every color and race imaginable – and explaining the difference between race and ethnicity can be quite a cumbersome task to take on on a daily basis. And yet, many Afro-Latinos are often forced to do so after being told they’re not “Latino enough” or being asked to choose between being Black and Latino.
Afro-latin@s struggle with being ignored by the media because for some reason people don’t believe you can be both Latino and Black. This is why there’s so much controversy when it comes to race and ethnicity. People try to paint Latin@s as this light brown or even white skinned when there are many dark skinned Latin@s. They are in all parts of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, & in North America (Mexico). Unfortunately, these folks aren’t represented in the media much and we have portrayed Latin@s in a certain way that has shaped the thoughts of others when they hear that word.
^ Say that. There’s the blatant erasure by the media, as well as the fellow Latinxs who shun blackness. Then there’s the serious lack of knowledge by people who still don’t understand the clear difference between race and ethnicity, and assume Black means “African American” (which it does not), so as a result they question your identity. Race does not denote one’s ethnicity/ethnicities. Latinxs do not have a specific look or skin color. There are sooooooo many brown skin Latinxs out here.
Black and Cuban at the same damn time.
Black and Puerto Rican at the same damn time.
Black and Colombian at the same damn time.
Black and Dominican at the same damn time.
Black and Mexican at the same damn time.
Black and Honduran at the same damn time.
Black and Ecuadorian at the same damn time.
Black and Nicaraguan at the same damn time.
Black and Panamanian at the same damn time.
Black and Peruvian at the same damn time.
Black and Uruguayan at the same damn time.
Black and Venezuelan at the same damn time.
There’s way more to be listed, but I think y’all get it now…hopefully.
hot take: you can’t divorce beauty culture from white supremacy
examples:
the mass popularity of contouring to make your face fit white european/american beauty ideals (high cheekbones, small nose, little to no facial fat, etc.)
snapchat/instagram filters that are designed to make people “beautiful” but almost universally lighten skin, chisel noses, slim jawbones, etc.
the increasing popularity of hair extensions – which are far more common in “white” hair types (i.e. 1a to 2c) than “ethnic” hair types
racialised features such as women’s facial hair, monobrows, thick body hair etc. being unacceptable
white & light-skinned beauty instagrammers exploiting Black culture for their #brand whilst remaining incredibly racist & antiblack themselves
obviously I don’t think wearing makeup makes you a white supremacist but all of these are upholding the idea of whiteness as the ideal. modern instagram beauty culture goes hand in hand with racism and ignoring that is doing a huge disservice to brown & Black girls everywhere!
“If you’re a white person who’d never heard POC talk about white people before the advent of social media, it probably means no POC, even your friends, have truly trusted you.”
“Ludwig van Beethoven was of African descent, and the truth of his ethnic origins was covered up through a mixture of white powder worn on his face when out in public, the use of body doubles for portraits, and “euro-centric” historians, hiding the truth of his genetic heritage.“ – src
I’m mad that we aren’t taught this
This doesn’t get any truer, no matter how often it crosses my dashboard.
wupacing 