Growing up Melanin In America

 

         “Let me know when it starts to burn”, or ” Your very pretty for a black girl” are some the the stereotypic phrases I encountered in my life. Why do I have to be segregated because of the color of my skin? Why can’t we all love each other equality like we are supposed to?

         The color of my skin shouldn’t define who I am, the color of my skin shouldn’t matter at all. Brown, White, Black, even yellow and pink, we all came from the same place and we all are going to go to the same place. We live in a society where the color of your skin determines who you are and what you are going to be in life.

         Some individuals are embarrassed, Humiliated, even go as far as to bleach their skin to look “lighter” or to be white. Me personally am proud to be a melanin young women and proud of my culture and where I come from. All skin tones are beautiful in their own ways, but why make fun of someone who’s 4 shades darker than yourself? The color of a person’s skin shouldn’t define them their actions and the way they portray themselves should define who they are.

         But some may ask “What is the definition of Melanin?”. Melanin is a the dark pigment of ones skin tone supposedly caused by sunlight, but how can sunlight cause a person to be melanin when a unborn baby is in their mothers stomach for 9 months in fluids and rarely exposed to sunlight?. If that’s the case why do African American babies come out sometimes Caucasian looking? 

Beautiful little white baby with bone straight hair with a cheeky smile not knowing what was in store for her when she would start school. Being told your to dark or “If you were 5 shades lighter you could be my girlfriend” If a guy can’t love my melanin like I do then he needs to take a good look in the mirror and get a good reality check, I know I wear glasses and I can’t see far distances but I know damn good and well I can see colors and we are the same color, Same race and same skin tone.

Having young black males saying I only date “Whites or Latinas” is a disgrace or even saying black women are “to loud or ghetto”. It’s okay to have your preferences but how can you dare say that when you came from a Beautiful ,Black strong women who carried you for 9 months? Who always made sure you had clothes on your back and who always made sure you had food in your stomach? Interracial relationships are very beautiful but don’t go around disrespecting your own race or even someone else’s race.

         Being made fun of and young children asking you what are you mixed with? Oil and Dirt? Is very hurtful and disrespectful, no individual should be made fun of because of their skin tone. We didn’t ask to be this color or shade or have the physical appearances we all have but we have to live with it day by day.

         Young Black girls like myself aren’t the only ones who get segregated because of our skin tones but also young black men as well. Being stereotyped as being a thug’s, local drug dealer even a pot head because they might have dreads or sag their pants. 

Young black individuals in our society today are getting harassed, humiliated and even killed for our skin color. As I previously asked, Why do us individuals get segregated because of our skin shade or tone?. Cant even walk to the corner store to get snacks without being harassed or asked “Where are you going?” or ‘Why are you out this late, are you some type of thug?’.

Martin Luther King once said that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. Every race should love one another we all were created by Jesus Christ himself and influential leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcom X just wanted equality and respect and to stop being segregated by our skin colors.

Me personally I love the skin I’m in, took a few years for me to realize that my melanin is beautiful and that all shades of skin tones are beautiful. All the negativity about the dark pigment of my skin doesn’t matter to me anymore and shoudn’t matter to other people either, all skin tones are beautiful in their own way, and I love my skin so should other people. Self love is the best love always love yourself and be proud of what you came from and make that a clear representation of what conquering negatively looks like.