INCLUB MAGAZINE: Not Black Enough?

Twitter once again erupted last week after Rachael Malonson, a senior journalism student at the University of Texas was crowned Miss Black in the Kappa Alpha Psi pageant. The fraternity created the pageant decades ago to honor and reward black female undergraduate students at the university and this year was no different. So, what was the controversy about? The winner of the pageant is the product of an interracial union (white mother and black father) and many people felt that she did not deserve to win the pageant because she was not “black enough”. Malonson is a beautiful light skinned woman with long, bone straight hair. Her looks alone apparently did not signify her African American heritage according to her peers at the university and a multitude of Twitter users.

Upon hearing this story, I immediately thought of the issue of colorism in the black community. Colorism can be defined as a systematic form of discrimination that has allowed lighter skinned people of many races to receive privileges that darker skinned people have not. Colorism is not strictly defined to African Americans. Asians and many other cultures experience the negative effects of colorism and that is why skin bleaching cremes are extremely popular in Asian countries. This issue has plagued the black community for centuries dating back to slavery. Lighter skinned slaves usually served in their master’s house aka the “Big House” while darker skinned slaves worked in the field and were subjected to terrible conditions such as extreme heat, injuries from working the land and much more. During the Jim Crow era, the “Paper Bag Test” was developed. Black people were forced to stand in line while a brown paper bag was held up to their faces and if they were darker than the paper bag, they were not allowed the same privileges as their light skinned peers.

Imagine the psychological impact that colorism has had on the black community. We have been dealing with this type of discrimination for centuries and because it is so engraved into our culture and way of life, we now display this type of discrimination towards each other. Majority of the criticism that Rachael Malonson has received has not been from people of other cultures but from other black people.  The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at the University of Texas has shown complete support to her during this time and stands by their decision to crown her Miss Black despite the overwhelming criticism.

The question of whether lighter skinned black people and people of mixed races are “black enough” has also been the center of the conversation. It seems that if you do not “look black” meaning if your nose and lips are thinner and your hair is straight with no curl in sight, you are not “black enough” to sit at the same table as dark skinned black people even if one of your parents are black.

This issue has been featured in the documentary “Light Girls” and the new Netflix series “Dear White People”. We as black people have been so harshly discriminated against by outside forces solely based on the color of our skin that we now transfer that discrimination to each other when that should not be the case.

Is colorism a real issue? Yes. Has society placed favor and privilege on people of lighter skin tones in most cultures? Yes. But does that mean that is the reason why Rachael Malonson won the pageant? No. No matter her skin complexion, facial features or tone of her voice, if Rachael has stated that she is black then she is black. If the judge’s feel that she rightfully won the Miss Black pageant then she rightfully deserves her crown. What’s more important is not if she’s “black enough”. What’s more important is how we as black people immediately responded with criticism to her win instead of support and celebration for black, educated, intelligent women of all skin tones. We cannot deny that these issues do exist but we also cannot demonize every light skinned person that wins an award over a dark skinned person. So, before we jump on Twitter and begin bashing our counterparts, let’s check the facts and more importantly our own hearts.