If you light, alright...

...if you black, stay back!

If this is not the first time you've heard that statement, you won't find the following article as any great surprise. Otherwise, educate yourselves:

Skin tone more important than educational background for African Americans seeking jobs, according to new research from the University of Georgia

Everyone knows about the insidious effects of racism in American society. But when it comes to the workplace, African Americans may face a more complex situation the effects of their own skin tone.

For the first time, a study indicates that dark-skinned African Americans face a distinct disadvantage when applying for jobs, even if they have resumes superior to lighter-skinned black applicants.

Sister Liz cued me into info on Black America Web but I chose to link to the academic article. On BAW, it was cute how they only alluded to--rather than directly address--the issue of colorism amongst black folks when no one else is around. The results might skew a little but I doubt that they would be much different if black Americans were doing the choosing. We're just as indoctrinated as everyone else.

In all honesty, in the past few years, I've been confronted with my views on color and culture. Before moving to Nashville I was dating a guy who was a few shades darker than myself. One day we were holding hands and all of the sudden I'm thinking, "Oh my God. He's actually black. I'm not black." I always thought of myself as black in color. My skin is actually quite brown. It was like some weird dichotomy. [Black identity is a strange thing. Especially in the West where culture is supposedly synonymous with a color rather than country.] It was actually a traumatizing moment. Typically, I'm the blackest person in the room--I know I need to get out more--and I'm cool with that. I'm used to that and my self-perception was wrongly shaped because of it.

I was talking with a girlfriend about the same thing and she said she had realized so much from dating a dark-skinned man. He was a really sweet guy, very tall, very dark and some of the reactions they got were just silly. (She's a short brown-skinned girl.) People are so scared of black it's amazing.

My pseudo-psychological analysis is this: When black people are more visible in normalized roles in media, politics and business, our mindsets will be broadened. That's a good thing.