Colour Me Black
Black child's mother says her ears gave it away
The hint of shame on an otherwise perfect face
Good Hair
Good Hair speaks to the upliftment and love for all women of colour. The influence of colourism and hair type bias has been an ugly remnant of a social conditioning adopted from slavery that is still very much alive and well today.
Belonging To Barbuda
Sally: You bring me here to ask foolish questions like that?
Featurism, not Colourism
The public praise for women who look “exotic” or “mixed” and the ridicule women with more evident African features have faced in the Black community have caused insecurities in Black women.
Tout Pour Plaire
J’ai été conditionné à être un objet.
Il fallait à tout prix appartenir à quelqu’un. Mon
quotidien consistait à faire le beau, en espérant qu’on
me remarque et qu’on me choisisse.
I am that little Black Girl
I can also vividly remember being told by somebody I loved that I was beautiful for a black girl. I can honestly say that I did not fully understand the implications of this comment. I now understand.
Don't Marry Us. Instead, Stand By Us.
The worst part of it all, is that there are deep roots of trauma still plaguing our families yet the outsiders only care about the resorts, the plantain, or the reggae that is overplayed on certain radio stations.
Invisible Scars
Here she was, head laid, in the lap of the boy who was her rising sun, the peas to her rice. A tender moment spoiled by a bigoted anecdote.
THE WHITE ROOM
Everything was completely white. I was the only object of colour but for once that excited me.
Brown Oceans
Do oceans that aren’t
green or blue…
Colourism and Good Hair
As a beautiful young Caribbean woman, I want to say that I love my hair in all its kinks and coils.
Unlearning anti-Blackness
It was only after my hair started to grow into its own, after my hair started to gain length that the attitude they had changed. It went from “yuh good hair yuh cut off” to “you get your hair from me; you know Guyanese hair does grow long and nice”. Recently an aunt said in conversation that Black hair can only grow long if you’re mixed with something... I didn’t feel comfortable hearing that.
What Lies Beneath the Skin
My grandfather called my hair was “too niggerish”
When my mother refused lye and hot comb
I told him my brown skin was a blessing
He admonished “Girl!
Watch your tone”