Skin is Skin: Dark or Light we should all be treated the same!

Black -

 of the very darkest color owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light; the opposite of white.

 

Although there are other definitions of what black means, this definition says black is the opposite of white which could be interpreted that blacks and whites are to oppose one another but I say it does NOT apply to people and should not apply to people but sadly in this day in age because of our skin color.

 

There are many different races in this world which also means our skin is all kinds of shades and colors so when you or I say people of color, I personally don’t believe that it only means a black person, we are all people of color, otherwise we would be nonexistent or invisible, like a ghost! 

 Skin is skin and it doesn't matter if I am black, white, brown...  for example; if I have a blemish or scar I won't use a different skin product just because my skin is a different color than yours, but it  would be because my skin is sensitive or dry, and yours is oily to normal, or somewhere in between. Another example, if you or I skinned our knees, then we would both need bandages and the bandages would be the same unless one of us had a larger scrape or deeper. 

My Pastors wife once said as an analogy with the black lives matters statement a black person's house is on fire and he or she calls the fire department. The fire department comes and some of the other neighbors come out and say my house matters too, and yet their house is not the one one fire. You are  just as important and I am and your life matters just like mine does, but you have to open your eyes, i mean really open your eyes and see that I am most likely the one that will be treated different than you if your skin doesn't happen to be dark like mine. and thats all I will say about that.

Below are some experiences of mine and I am just sharing for those who choose to read it. Racism is still alive even though some may want to turn a blind eye to it, such as someone I know saying the world as it is as far as race goes should just stay the same. I would beg to say that, a statement such as this would be because a person is choosing to be ignorant or haven't really put much thought to this because they have not experience what I've experienced.

 

I being a black woman am not the opposite of you but on the contrary I am the same as you.  Technically... I am not black, but I am dark brown, and you are not white but maybe would describe your skin as tan, peach, etc. So then where does this generalization of our skin colors come from? I don’t have an answer for you, but this is something I wonder about.

 

At an early age, in the 90's experienced the burning of a cross in our front yard and it wasn't from some random person that decided that they didn't like us, but it was from our neighbors. The very neighbors of who my siblings and I played with, but for some reason it changed and that was my first experience that I recall racism unashamedly displayed by a white family.

 

My next experience that reminded me of my blackness was when I was in 11th grade I moved to a town called Panhandle, Tx of where I was the sole person in the whole town that had skin as dark as mine. Going to a school being the only black person, I felt pressures from others to dress a certain way to be accepted there. I felt alone most of the time but  there was  one person that was brave enough to befriend me first, and it was a girl named Shannon Meaker who is now Shannon Yant she was so kind and accepted me for me as well as her mom and her sisters also embraced me too.

Also, during that time, I recall that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was coming up and someone came up to me and said, "Did you know that we have never had MLK day off school? That is because you are here." At the time I was so perplexed at the time because the years previous when I lived in Amarillo, TX we have always had that day off. But in this town where everyone was predominantly white, the kids there had never experienced being out of school for MLK day. Whether that statement was true or not, that is what a peer at the school told me.

 I only lived there for a short time, but I constantly searched for someone else that looked like me. The closest I got was that there happened to be an Indian peer and 2 Hispanic peers who were adopted by a white family. Seeing them brought some comfort because their skin was brown too.

 

Each day that I walk about the town wherever I may live I am aware of when I am the only black person, I am aware that I could get stopped by the cops for no other reason than the color of my skin but would be said this is just a routine traffic stop. Therefore, I always make sure I have my driver’s license not just to be legal but because of my blackness. 

 

Because I am black and ancestors experienced slavery, I am always scared to meet people 70 or older because they may not like me simply because they may have been one of the people that were racist in there earlier years and still may be.

 

Because I am black, I don't go into small boutiques or business unless I have someone else with me because it is known when we black people go into a store we are most likely to be followed to make sure we don’t steal anything. 

 

Because I am black and come from a low income family I remember being surprised when I was out accompanying my friend Libby and her daughter trick or treating and we came to a large house in a nice neighborhood and a black family answered the door. That was the first time that I realized that not only white people had nice houses and money but black people could have a nice houses and money too and so I had a chance to make it. 

 

When I was on a mission trip in New York, I was surprised to see so many black business owners. I never knew that black people could own a business, but I was proud to see that it could be done.

Growing up attending the Salvation Army Church from the age of 4 there have been countless times that I was aware that someone got a privilege over me because they were white or a Corp.(church) Officers (Pastors) kid. Although what I have experienced is true, it makes me proud when I see someone that is black and a Corp. officer (Pastor) in the Salvation army it because it isn't a common thing in my perspective to see someone that looks like me be in leadership at that church/organization.

 

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Lastly here are some random realities/ thoughts..

 

 

I have many friends, friends of which I call family that are white, and there have been countless times that some of those family members have made comments that were racist, and blatantly one day said to me that they didn't care if it seemed like there were being racist and it was not even against a black person. 

 

By family I've been told that I talk white and by others I've heard them say that someone is trying to act black or someone is acting white.  So, I ask what exactly is talking or acting black or white? While those statements can be true in some cases, the bigger picture is we are not our skin, our culture, or our sexual preferences, the content of your character matters above those things and at the end of the day.... People are just who they are.

 

 Something that perplexes me is knowing that I am someone’s only black friend when I know for a fact that I am not the only black person around. I personally think if you are over 40 yrs. old there has had to be times when you could have pursued a friendship with someone that doesn't look like you. 

I've had countless encounters of being the only black person in a room but it doesn't make me not pursue friendship, some people because of their character, I usually know if I would be friends with them outside of the work environment or whatever environment I am around them in. 

 

Just treat everyone how you would want them to treat your children, you, or anyone that you love because as I said before Skin is Skin and to love people as Jesus would, should be our daily goal.

  Thank you to all those that have befriended me, I love you. 

 

thanks for reading... 

 Until next time, 

- a life borrower 😉