Perspective: Response to Candice Crowell's Article Entitled, “Big Sister Says:When Will Dark Women?"

Candice Crowell's article echoes the 1959 film"Imitation of Life," in which Sarah Jane, who can pass for white, is still assaulted by her white boyfriend when he finds out that she is black.

The color complex has been internalized in several societies for a long period of time. According to Littlejohn and Foss's 2005 article, Gramsci's hegemony theory is about "the domination of false ideology or way of thinking over true condition."

Not too long ago, I was having a discussion with a cohort who observed that in the Founders Library, virtually all of the students and faculty in the early photographs are light-skinned during the early days of Howard. Historically, people with dark skin have been discriminated against and marginalized in several cultures.

Crowell's modest research revealed that only one out of the top ten HBCU presidents is dark-skinned. However, there are other areas of life in which dark-skinned individuals--women--are highly visible.

For example, President Obama, who is light-skinned, would attest that dark-skinned women are in style by pointing to the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Isn't the current Miss Universe dark-skinned? Of course, Leila Lopes, a 25-year-old Angolan, became Miss Universe at the 60th anniversary of the world's biggest beauty pageant. She beat out 88 other competitors, most of whom were either white or light-skinned.

The Journal of Pan African Studies, Volume 4, Number 4, 2011, dedicated its special issue to colorism with the editorial, "Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy." This open-access online journal contains nine thought-provoking articles on colorism. Visit: http://www.jpanafrican.com/archive_issues/vol4no4.htm

Although Crowell directed her articles to us "brothers," as she proclaims that "the most difficult part about this phenomenon is when a dark man proudly exclaims that his preference is for light women," I contend that this phenomenon is not exclusive to men.

Women explicitly and/or implicitly express their preference for light-skinned brothers, too. As a future leader, I find this troublesome. However, as time progresses, many of us should be able to understand how/why the media is utilizing our people to perpetrate this type of distorted ideology in our community.

I believe that the color complex represents the internalization of false ideology. It has been perpetuated by the dominant ideology in several societies. We should not let any distorted ideology or concept frame our thinking.

It is about time to embrace each other's skin tone. I believe that "dark women" are in style. The mainstream media and distorted ideologies are framing the mindsets of many individuals. After all, dark skin is beautiful and always has been.

Uchenna Onuzulike is a graduate student in Communication and Culture from Nigeria.