Inner Beauty is Important, but Not Nearly as Important as Outer Beauty

Is that not the best quote ever? I love Ellen Degeneres.  I thought I'd use it as the title for this blog entry just to add a touch of humor to it.

Now let's get to the nitty gritty.  The light/dark skin issue has plagued our people since slavery times.  But when will it end?  Will we ever get past it?  I truly hope so, but just like racism and the natural/relaxed hair issue, I think we are stuck with it.

You may ask what made me think about this.  The answer is... somewhat simple.  Some one on Facebook commented on a status message I'd posted about Ri Ri and C Breezy (another issue of its own).  Usher and Tameka came into the conversation, I mentioned she was ugly, and immediately it became a light/dark skin issue.  Apparently Halle Berry is the poster child for light skinned beauties because she always pops up in these conversations.  It was immediately "so I guess if she looked like Halle Berry or Rihanna" then she'd be pretty, huh?"  WHOA.  Hold the fuck up.  Don't put words in my mouth (or my fingertips actually).

Yes, I am a light skinned black woman.  (Actually I am probably somewhere between light and medium.)  But my mother, father, brother, my aunts and uncles, and most of my 1st cousins are all dark skinned.  I have no hate for darker skinned black folks, nor do I have an exclusive love for only light-skinned people.  I think all kinds of women are beautiful--  from the light skinned Halle and Alicia to Sanna,  Gabrielle, Kelly Rowland, Alek Wek, Tweet (where the hell is she, by the way), Lauryn Hill, Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett and everyone darker, lighter and in between.  Tameka Raymond, however, in my opinion, is ugly.  I don't see why I have to justify the statement.  People have their own preferences.

I just don't get why we as black people have to come back to the dark/light skin debate ALL the time.  It is not even appropriate in many of the situations where the debate is used.  When will we as a people let the shit go?