Light Girls.

I just finished watching #LightGirls on OWN (well on DVR). I'm filled with such a wide range of emotions. These were thoughts of mine throughout the documentary. They may be scattered, and I apologize, I was typing and listening at the same time.

• I loved seeing so many of the people commenting throughout the piece having doctoral degrees. It's inspiring. It's exciting. I'm not sure if that's because that's not in the history of my family or what, but to see black professionals in the seats that I want to be in, especially the older blacks with higher degrees because you know there was nothing easy about their education journey and their fight for educational and professional respect. And I know I shouldn't be this excited about it, because we live in "post racial" America and "everyone is allotted the same opportunities but black people just don't take advantage", but I am.
• Overcompensating: someone mentioned how his fair-skinned mother and wife always felt the need to overcompensate for their lighter skin tone and go out of their way to prove how black they are, which is ridiculous, but also not imaginary. I feel like this applies to lighter blacks, suburban blacks, and my favorite...blacks that "talk white". I was told in high school, because I didn't go to the public school I was supposed to go to (praise God), and went to a charter school and because I know how to pronounce words in the English language without sounding like I have no home training, that I wasn't "really black." It's hilarious because not being "really black" didn't stop me from experiencing discrimination, didn't stop me from feeling filled with rage when a white person called me a nigger, nor did it stop me from being filled with rage when my mother made me watch Roots as a child. I am black. Don't ever fix your lips to think about calling me otherwise. 
• My father grew up in the complex of "talking too white" and having predominantly white friends, as he went to Catholic schools, but he wasn't white enough to be passed up on a position when he was in the State Police, sue them, and fortunately win. It doesn't matter how we view each other within the race. These complexes don't matter. To any other race, especially whites (which ultimately rule the world..or at least our world) BLACK IS BLACK.
• I agree that the differentiation between light and dark skinned women is a learned behavior, I just want to know how it festers so deeply and does not stop. My oldest niece just turned six last month. She's brown skinned, her father is brown skinned. Her brother and mother are light skinned. You would think it wouldn't make a difference, but she would say "mommy I want to be light like you and [her brother]" WHY. She's gorgeous. She has a smile that lights up my life, yet she already has a negative image about herself because of the color of her skin. I hate it. 
• We fight about the things we can't control. 
• However they could divide us they could. Divide and conquer isn't a foreign concept. Hell, I do it with my homework. To conquer us in blatant brutal slavery, they divided us. To conquer us in "post racial America" they let us divide ourselves. 
• It breaks my heart that so many people in so many different countries go to all these lengths to attempt to lighten their skin. I don't understand. I appreciate other cultures and part of those cultures is those distinct appearances, appearances that get tainted when you put your skin at risk for damage and cancer because you want to appear white. 
• It hurt when J. Alexander said Lupita's influence will only be temporary, and it hurt because he's probably right. Now I personally don't think she's THAT beautiful, and not because she's dark skinned, just because I don't think that. There are plenty of beautiful dark skinned women. But back to my original point, it sucks that she will only have a temporary presence. I want more women like her. Women for both my generation to receive a boost of inspiration from and for following generations to hang posters of in their room and idolize (in a healthy way of course). Women to make them feel good about their looks and about their brains, to make them feel empowered. That needs to continue. 
• I'm struggling because I don't think it's offensive to ask people their ethnic background, as I'm very interested in other cultures, but I know first hand that the "what are you?" question can be very offensive, and very annoying when the response you give isn't what they expect. 
• "Light skinned is more of a trophy...you want to have that prize....[dark skinned] women have to go through more" .........I wanted to throw up hearing that. 
• We (women that don't fit the prototype) are somehow at some point in our development told we aren't good enough for whatever reason, most likely by men. When we get older, there's always some sort of insecurity or feeling of inferiority, especially when it comes to dealing with men, that takes a long time to shake. I'm still fighting some myself even though I know it's unnecessary and ridiculous. It's hard to fight was experience has taught you. The cycle of men, AND WOMEN, promoting the divide and the inferiority complex needs to end. It's funny until it's your child. Cut the nonsense now. 
• The light-skinned/dark skinned dude argument is an issue too. Not as much, but it still doesn't need to be pumped throughout our culture and our society. 
• "Ours [generation] is about the pursuit of happiness, and we have to pursuit it with the spirit of a revolutionary, and we cannot if we are at war with each other"
• "Nobody's gonna heal us. We have to heal ourselves...The world is not gonna stop perpetrating this lie." 
• "Hurt people, hurt people...and black people are hurt. We have to no longer blame the system, the media...and embrace one another in love."

You are good enough.