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Posted by Qadira

I’ve been told before that I am lucky because I am light-skinned. What’s so lucky about that? Do White people look at me and say “she’s one of us” or  “she’s Black…but just a little Black”. Is my big afro, Black features, and strong presence somehow erased by the pigmentation of my skin? No. To non-Black people, Black is Black. I think the way you dress and carry yourself is far more important than the shade of your skin. If a light-skinned guy dressed like a hoodlum and speaking Ebonics came in for an interview alongside a well-spoken dark-skinned guy with dreads, dressed in a sharp suit, I would put my money on the dark-skinned guy getting the job.

When I speak about discrimination and other issues that I may face as a Black woman, people try to discredit my experiences based on the fact that I’m only “part Black”. I am ¾ Black and ¼ Chinese. But guess what? I can’t “pass” as Chinese. What do you think Chinese people see when they look at me? A Black woman.

Identity is a tricky thing. What is “Black” anyway? Is it a way of speaking? Eating a certain type of food? The way you dress? Your gestures and mannerisms? The texture of your hair? I think the most important part of identity is how you define yourself. I am Black and I am proud. Please stop trying to re-define who I am.

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