Colorism is quite frankly and endless Game of who’s the lightest and who’s the darkest.  In this game, the darkest skinned individuals are always the losers. In this game, our community pits us against ourselves. In this game…

To me, colorism is saying “she’s pretty for a dark skinned girl”
Colorism is subconsciously showing preferential treatment to lighter skinned individuals
Colorism is the doorman of a club only selecting light skinned women to enter the establishment
Colorism is only including the dark skinned girl because she has light skinned friends in tow
Colorism is asking someone why are you so dark- the statement in itself has a negative undertone

Those who are never on the receiving end of actual racism are probably unaware that many of their forefathers were absolutely obsessed with race and weaved it very tightly into the fabric that is America. They weaved racism into the school system, financial and banking system, the housing system and into city layouts. The modern day police is an institution that was one hundred percent conceived and structured around the ideals of racism. And what would you say if I told you that even something as child-friendly and innocent as a Nursery Rhyme was also rooted in racism? *Gasp*

Who is going to do that for our children if we don't? The answer is NOBODY. Yes, their are the Ezra Jack Keats and Andrea Beatys- who choose Black main characters to make their stories come to life, and their works are awesome! But who can tell our stories better than us, who can channel our voices and experiences better than we can? Who can empower our children better than we can? Who can address actual issues that our children face better than we can? Who can use literature to pass down our culture and traditions better than we can? Who could be more equipped to give our children the tools they need to navigate this world wearing black skin better than we can? The answer is NOBODY. And this applies to any group, not just Black people. Nobody can tell your (community, cultural, traditional etc..) stories better than you can. 

It didn't take long for me to realize that I had to go into Black Pride overdrive for my students. I was going to make sure that these Black children whose lives I touched every single day had at least one place on campus that was intentionally designed to support them. I would affirm everything from their beautiful skin tones to their natural hairstyles- by my third year at the school, almost every girl with permed hair that came through my class had done a big chop and was now proudly wearing their natural hair!

Given that the foundational years of American education occurred during a time when it was frowned up-on, forbidden and in many states illegal to educate Black people; it only takes the smallest amount of deductive reasoning to come the conclusion that American school systems and structures would be racist at their very core. 

For Black women, our hair is more than just hair. Our hair is a part of our experience, a part of our story, our hair is  "a universal unifying element of Black sisterhood."