Title
Class Year
2015
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
10-22-2014
Department 1
Center for Public Service
Abstract
“You know, you’re pretty for a dark skinned girl, but I’m sure people tell that all the time”
“Can I honestly tell you, that you are the prettiest dark skinned girl I know?”
Throughout my life I have received comments such as these. I’ve heard them from my mother’s colleagues, strangers, and sometimes my friends. They provoked me to think that somehow I genetically lucked out to be physically attractive even though I was cursed to live within dark skin. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Zakiya A., "The Dark Skin I Am In" (2014). SURGE. 182.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/surge/182
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons
Comments
Surge is a student blog at Gettysburg College where systemic issues of justice matter. Posts are originally published at surgegettysburg.wordpress.com Through stories and reflection, these blog entries relate personal experiences to larger issues of equity, demonstrating that –isms are structural problems, not actions defined by individual prejudice. We intend to popularize justice, helping each other to recognize our biases and unlearn the untruths.