Colorism

Black Queen

The internet has been buzzing about the surprise nuptials of Mr. Tyrese Gibson but not exactly for the reasons most would think. Recently Tyrese shared his wedding pictures on Instagram with the hashtag my black queen. He’s been getting slammed because his wife looks white. To be honest I have mixed feelings about this situation. I for one am happy for Tyrese from what  I researched his new wife is really religious. Tyrese new wife has influenced his views on God it was shown through posts. In my opinion anyone who can influence your outlook about God and causes you to walk closer with Him is a blessing. I don’t care what color that they are because in my eyes love has no color.

The person that I am is one who is curious about what makes people do what they do. Tyrese fan base is made up of mostly black women so  I am thinking that he doesn’t want to lose fans that why he kept the marriage quiet. Another thing that I have noticed about Tyrese is that most of the women that he has dated have been very light skinned. I have written about the colorism that goes on in the black community. Even though we grow up and become an adult there are still some things that have occurred in our childhood that we carry with us. Some of the comments that  I read on Tyrese Instagram prior to him taking his wedding photos were terrible like attacking his skin tone. I wonder did he get attacked behind his skin tone a lot as a child and as an adult. It doesn’t matter about him being a celebrity he’s still a human being with feelings.

I’ll never meet Tyrese but I am glad that he is happy. He looked very happy in his wedding photos and that’s great. I pray that his wife makes him happy for many more years to come. I do feel that there are some deep seeded problems within the black community I have said this many times before. Tyrese calls his wife who looks white a black queen yet Jesse Williams is thought of as not being black enough. It just doesn’t make sense to me nevertheless blessings to Tyrese and his wife.

One last thing I would like to add pertaining to a comment left on Tyrese photo the writer wrote “Men dark as Tyrese are the ones with the biggest self-hatred” if that is the case let’s not add to his case by attacking the man. I pray that God sends me a true Man of God that helps to strengthen my walk with Christ. Tyrese obviously has reached the understanding with his wife’s help that having a strong relationship with God is more important than anything.

Mark 10:8

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

Black History Month

I am so thankful for black history month. Every year  I share black history facts and always end up finding out new things. There is so much that we wasn’t taught in school.

Does anyone know anything about what happened on March 2, 1955? Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man someone else did her name was Claudette Colvin. I know right in school we were always taught about Rosa Parks. When  I think about all the history that wasn’t taught in school it really gets me to thinking.

Claudette Colvin was a 15 year old high school student who refused to give her bus seat up to a white person. There was quite a few black women who refused to give up their seat but they were fined instead of jailed. On March 2, 1955 a bus driver ordered Colvin to get out of her seat she refused and was arrested by two police officers.

Most people including myself don’t know the role that Colvin played in the bus boycotts. Colvin was one of four women who challenged the law. Colvin case overturned the bus segregation laws in Montgomery and Alabama.

Colvin was asked why was her story not talked about she felt it was because her community shunned her after her arrest and once she became pregnant. Colvin felt that the civil rights leader felt that she was an inappropriate symbol for the test case. Colvin spoke of the colorism within the black race how Rosa Parks had “the look” her skin texture and good hair was the kind that people associated with middle class. Rosa Parks was a married woman and Colvin was a pregnant teen. Colvin felt that Rosa Parks was used because civil rights leaders felt that she would be a better icon.

When I found out about Claudette Colvin story I wasn’t sure who I should be more upset with. Yes there was segregation but what about the way that Colvin was treated by her own people? What about the things she endured because she was a pregnant teen? Who’s responsible for the colorism that took place? Who is responsible for not allowing Colvin story to make it in to the history books?

I so enjoy black history month and  I do not have anything against Martin Luther King Jr or Rosa Parks  I just think we need to be taught about history in it’s entirety. There was a lot of women and teens who were making a stand in the segregation situations not just middle aged men in suits.

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A Shade of Black

Tameeka is about to go there. Yes I am about to talk about colorism in the black community. I was watching a video on YouTube and it was about a website called Smoochr. The website is a place that allows people to filter the kind of people that they want. A person get to choose based on skin shade, size of lips, hair type etc. Hmmmmmm definitely not something that I will be checking out. As many know I’m about love and never about division. God made us all different but beautiful we are to embrace our differences not use them as a way to divide. Anyway I know some people may debate with me about who started colorism okay hundreds of years ago some of the white people did it fine and dandy. But who keeps the colorism going? The maker of the Smoochr website is a black man. So instead of pulling people together he’s is causing more separation and insecurities of others.

Colorism

I am black but my shade is brown. I’m what would be considered to be in between dark-skinned and light-skinned. Growing up I never paid attention to shade but I have witnessed dark-skinned people being bullied based on their color as if growing up wasn’t hard enough. It is still very much present today. I have also heard people of a dark skin talk about being insecure and hating their skin color. It’s just horrible and it needs to end. The only test that a paper bag should have is how much weight it can hold. At the end of the day we all check off the box for black regardless of our shade. I don’t care who slams me we must do better. Let’s lift up one another high. Stop hurting one another and let’s heal one another. I get the past but what are we doing now to move forward in a positive way. It’s the only way that change will happen.

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