Donnerstag, 27. Juni 2013

''Team light skinned'' Poetry (Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement)

Kai Davis, Hiwot Adilow and Telia Allmond of Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) recite a poem 
about their experience as light skinned women.




''You’re worth a little more if you’re golden
yellow enough to remind them of precious metals
They’re blinded by the radiance in our pigment
the milligrams of melanin spread thin enough to let light through
the light makes us walk a little softer
we can pass the paper bag test in the dark
can blend easily into any whitewashed backdrop
can dodge handcuffs without paying a fine
the white man’s best friend
the face of every ad marketed to black people
black enough to be a nigga
white enough to be a good one
our complexion makes the most racist politicians comfortable
they don’t mind sitting next to us
or shaking hands in public
but won’t hesitate to remind us where we stand
they never call us equals
yet treat us better than our browner sistas
Call us redbone
cast off anyone with a bit of night in their skin
people have always been afraid of the dark
but quick to bathe in the sun
bow to the white shine of the stars
Even black men want women
brighter than their mothers
lighter than their sisters
Whiter than their daughters
we’ve always been the first choice in a bedroom scrimmage
the honey in our skin makes us worth being tasted
the darkest things about us are the shadows of our hips
we’re never hidden in corners or kissed in secret
Men are proud to have us
Eager to use us as accessories
to decorate a rap star like platinum
we’ve become hip-hop ballads
They say we’re easier on the eyes
like dark is too rough and calloused to be beautiful
Like black is only here to make us shine a little brighter
we’re praised for being exotic
They’re amused by trying to guess
what part of our blood makes us so attractive
“You’re so pretty! What are you mixed with?”
Like it’s never good enough to be just black
nothing great in a bloodline that can’t be traced to ghostly grandfathers
we’re considered worthwhile for the white we might be
the darker your pigment the more seeped you are in stereotype
look like you got an attitude
look like you got no class
look like you’re not worth your weight in coal
As if there is no place for women obscured in deeper tones
they have always been placed below us
society has only given them second glances
they are condemned to the dark
while we wear our skin like a sheet of diamonds
Dressed in the assurance that we’re worth more
the people around us covet us like jewels
their perception of us never fails to let us know
black might be beautiful
but light skin is the right skin
it doesn’t occur to them
that some of the most gorgeous stones are Obsidian
Opal
Onyx
people will tell you to bleach your brown
wash your black
erase your dark
Like our diluted tones are worth lending us privilege
Like there isn’t brilliance emanating from your pores
Like the mahogany of your skin isn’t perfect
our absence of color doesn’t make us magnificent
beauty can never be found in just one spot on the gray-scale
it’s the deepest shades that paint the best portraits ''


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