DEFINITIONS
Light Fragility, parts 1 and 2
Lately, I've been thinking maybe we pulled Malcom X forward from all those other equally profound, dark-skinned brothers within the Nation Of Islam simply because he was the "prettiest" That's why Michelle Gordon Jackson's "Light, Bright, Damn Near White: Black Leaders Created By The One-Drop Rule" is on my reading list.
Back to the point.
Whether or not we all agree on all the varied points that could be made on what increases or decreases light privilege within the race or outside of the race, the thing that I don't think most black people realize is that all black people regardless of skin tone are capable and primed to love and embrace, not only light skin, but light-privilege too.
With no evidence at all, I'm pretty sure that this is how Rachel Dolezal came to be embraced by the Spokane NAACP when she was elected then embraced again later by her defenders in June 2015.
At best, as a woman in the white community, Rachel Dolezal is somewhere between homely and average. In the black community however, Dolezal probably achieved instant beauty queen status simply due to her fair complexion. And beauty, for women, in a patriarchal society, can be translated into power if you have just a few brain cells here and there.
More importantly, the reason Becky D was able to skate is because light privilege is as taboo a subject for black people as white privilege is for white people. Furthermore, black people of all shades will agree that agree that white privilege is a problem all day long. But black people dark as night will deny that light privilege and light fragility even exists.
Some of the things that white privilege used to love to say is that "Race doesn't matter. I don't even see race. There's only one race the human race." However, some of the most unconscious of white people have gotten off this train. They've been forced off. Even if they don't understand why they aren't allowed to say, "There's only one race, the human race" anymore, even if some think of this as one more piece of political correctness that must be observed - lest they be laughed out of the room, at least many white people have stopped saying it.
So when are black people going to stop saying the black equivalent? "OMG we're all black!" is shouted by at least one person every single time light privilege rears it's ugly head (<---Light Fragility Symptom)
After all we've been through, how can we fail to easily understand that "There's only one race, the human race" and "Oh my God, we're all black" practically mean the same thing. And the one thing that they mean is:
"Shut up and stop talking about race, I don't even see skin-color. I am above bias."
"Shut up and stop talking about color, I don't even see skin-color. I am above bias."
We are this unconscious:
At the very moment when black women were the most upset, not just by having their identity stolen and used like a costume by Dolezal, black female identity was made light of by the...
1) oh-who-cares crowd*,
2) transracial-identity crowd, and
3) cultural- appropriation- has- too- many- syllables- for- me- to- even- try- to- understand- it crowd (*This crowd and crowd #1 may be the same crowd)
...more than one person thought it appropriate to post a meme like the one below.
There are times when this meme might be appropriate. But when black people are having an intense debate about the intersection of white privilege, light privilege, and cultural appropriation, that's probably not the time.
In fact, until black men collectively decide to own the fact that they are one-tenth of one millimeter from the center of the black female light-skin versus dark-skin debate, I'd say black men would be best off never posting this meme unless it is in regards to something light-skinned men and dark-skinned men are arguing about in regards to themselves.
And black men should be particularly observant of this when the fairer skinned, light-fragility sufferers are cheering them on.
As black people we mostly understand that when a (more often than not) white person says they don't see race, what they are really saying is that they don't see racism and its negative effects. And now it is time for us to also understand that a black or brown person saying that they don't see skin color, that person is saying something very, VERY similar. They are saying that they don't see colorism and its negative effects.
Regardless of the jealousy and scars suffered in childhood, their varying degree of privilege is real and must be addressed.
Our collective decision to be even deafer, dumber, and blinder on colorism than white people are on racism has left us having to deal with some bizarre problems that don't even make sense.
Rachel Dolezal is only one example.
Recently, a black feminist's social media site posted photos lauding the beauty of Iman at 60 in a fashion magazine spread. When I went to look at the headliner photo, I see that the site owner has put up a picture of a woman I don't recognize. Iman has been an icon and a hero for many black women for decades. She was one our "firsts." But this Iman is so pale in the image chosen that I had to look at the caption to make sure it was Iman.
I can't figure out which is saddest:
A black icon leaving her career using bleached images, dressed up as in quasi-Asian Geisha imagery (cultural appropriation much?)
OR a black feminist website failing to recognize the bleached-ness of the particular photo she chose (again, some of the other photos show darker skin)
OR the failure of women like Iman and Beyonce to police their own images as black woman of power and standing in their respective entertainment communities
OR our own failure to realize that WE ARE FAILING one another when we do not call the Imans and Beyonces in.
This is important.
Thousands and thousands of young black girls are looking up to these women, wanting to emulate them -- regardless of how much black pride is spouted at the dinner table.
This is important.
Thousands and thousands of young black boys and gay black girls are looking toward these women as examples of what girlfriends and future wives are supposed to look like -- with little = or no dinner table discussion on how light-skinned desires are based on white supremacy. (<---light fragility symptom)
It is not unity or unifying to pretend that colorism doesn't exist and isn't having an effect. At some point or other, most of us have wanted to tell white people over and over again that pretending race doesn't exist isn't going to make racism go away.
So, when are we going to make the same decision about colorism?
Back in the day, black people mostly didn't talk about colorism and preferential treatment. That's the same behavior as today. But there were also black clubs and organizations where black people darker than a paper bag weren't allowed inside these clubs and organizationsIn general, I find that black adults (of all shades) are sensitive to the feelings of other blacks who are light-skinned that feel left out as adults. And I think this sensitivity is probably present in adults in a way that's sometimes not possible as children. When children are jealous some get mean, evil even. But this is not all that's going on as far as the reluctance to talk about light privilege and the attending light fragility.
The paper bag is gone. But the attitude is not. Some of us, regardless of our own shade, rush to welcome into the race those lighter than a paper bag. Becky D, Iggy A, Kim K and the rest of Kardashians appear to have figured this out. And Becky probably figured this out days after landing at her first HBCU. (Have you seen the naked pictures with floor length braids, yet?)
I just finished reading a book that covered 1862 to 1931. It is just mind-blowing how consistent and unchanging our silences and denial responses to colorism have been over the last 150 years.
And I, myself, am still so in the dark on colorism that I had to read a fictional story, set in America, written by a Nigerian author to find out that she saw more a lot more light skinned people than dark at our Ivy League Colleges to this day.
I'm tired of the avoidance and lack of movement on this. Aren't you?
Becky D's antics should have been at the center of a new colorism conversation in June of 2015. Instead black women found themselves defending themselves from an attack from within - talking about braids on white women, blond weaves of black women, and how the cultural appropriation of black female identity is actually important.
Yes, colorism isn't going anywhere if we don't talk about it. But maybe we have other issues to resolve first.
References:
Light, Bright, Damn Near White: Black Leaders Created By The One Drop Rule AND other books.
Calling in versus Calling out: http://thankherforsurviving.blogspot.com/2015/04/black-girl-dangerous-on-calling-in-less.html
Iman 2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/18/iman-brag-gala-2013_n_4122297.html
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