Back in the days prior to the Civil Rights Movement, bleaching black skin was an accepted taboo. Advertising in major black magazines like Ebony and Jet, use to extol the benefits of using bleaching creams. The message was clear: You were prettier, more acceptable to society and desirable to men if your skin was lighter and brighter.

But the tumultuous 60′s rolled in. Coloreds and Negroes discovered their black was beautiful.  The expressions Black Power and Black Pride stirred up America like a tornado. “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud!” was heard from sea to shining sea. For the first time, African Americans gazed in the mirror without shame and embraced their dark hues, kinky hair and fuller features. Finally, they would overcome the hatred, perceived inferiority and unworthiness that 400 years of negative propaganda perpetrated.  As a daughter of a civil rights activist, I thought Black is Beautiful would last forever.

But then the  Oo-La-La 80′s emerged. The European look was back in vogue for black people.  Keen features and lighter skin were once again the desired look.

Super model Iman

In the 21st century, we are still  grappling with skin color.  In the age of multiculturalism, whitening creams are making a comeback. People of color all over the world are bleaching their skin including Africans, West Indians, Latinos, Asians and African Americans. Did biases against dark skin people ever really go away?

Evelyn Nakano Glenn, a professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a NYTimes.com post on skin whitening. “…It is not as if dark-skinned women are imagining a bias…Sociological studies have shown among African-Americans and also Latinos, there’s a clear connection between skin color and socioeconomic status. It’s not some fantasy. There is prejudice against dark-skinned people, especially women in the so-called marriage market.”

Don’t fit in, you don’t get in. How that standard crept back into African American culture baffles me. I still can’t believe Black is Beautiful is the exception, not the rule.

Woman with bleaching cream on her face

There is a price to pay for bleaching your way into societal acceptance. Skin lightening creams are dangerous to your skin. Many brands contain steroid corticosteroid and mercury, which over time can cause blemishing, burnt marks, thinning of the skin, eroded protection against UV rays, hypertension, cancer, liver and kidney failure, even death.

Skin damage from using bleaching cream

Many celebrities are alleged to be bleaching their black skin…

Lil' Kim's en"lightening" transformation

Vybz Kartel, rockin' that zombie look

Sammy, Say it ain't So(sa)!

Beyonce, is this bleaching, Photoshop or both?

Is this a new statement of haute style and beauty or a retreat into self hate?Are we going backward instead of forward? What do you think of Blacks bleaching their skin? Would you do it?

Then

Now

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Move over Santa’s elves, make room for Black Peter, Santa Claus‘s trusty African helper who  keeps a book with names of naughty children while toting a rod and knapsack to throw bad kids in. He’s a beloved little fella created by the Dutch in the 1840’s. Citizens in the Netherlands bring holiday cheer by dressing up as Black Peter, complete with black face, kinky wig and whimsical outfit.

Many Dutch citizens say Black Pete‘s face is black from sliding down soot laden chimneys. But others admit Black Peter promotes negative stereotypes.They want Black Peter to go away.

Organizers of New Westminster‘s Dutch Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) celebrations in Canada pulled Black Peter from their traditional parade due to protests from the public including the African-Canadian community who considered Santa’s little helper racist, offensive, and outdated.

In books, Black Peter is depicted as a dumb, belligerent slave who beats children. In German folklore, Black Peter is Krampus, the Black Devil who drags naughty children to Hell.

As an African-American, I’m still amazed by the lingering images that promote negative propaganda against the Black people of the world. Black Peter is just one of many.

Do you think Black Peter is negative or a harmless character who promotes Christmas cheer?

Little black girls at Booker T. Washington Girls Inc. in Columbus Ohio will get a special treat this holiday:  Barbie Dolls! But instead of sleek straight styles, the Barbies will be rockin’ kinks. Candace McBride, Organizer for the Black Barbie Drive is collecting new and used Barbies and turning their hair into natural styles. The organization’s aim is to give young girls an opportunity to own a Barbie that looks like them. The message: You don’t have to alter your hair with perms and relaxers to be beautiful. Kinky, twisted, locked, or naturally straight, you’re beautiful just the way you are.

Do you think giving away Barbie’s with kinky hair is a good way to build self-esteem in little black girls?

Click to see video.

http://vp.mgnetwork.net/viewer.swf?u=338ba60e7696102faba2001ec92a4a0d&z=RBL&embed_player=1

A new film coming out this year hopes to win your support. It’s called Dreams, the story of regular folks in challenging situations, trying to realize their dreams. It’s a riveting family drama that stars a great cast, including Angie Stone, Mel Jackson, Deleon Sheffield, Marvin Winans Jr., Marchello Lee and others.  Gospel singer and Executive Producer Marvin Winans Jr. helped make Dreams a reality. Though the film’s director,  Joel Kapity is not black, he has impressively captured the core of the Black experience on film.

You have the opportunity to “demand” that this movie be shown in your city. Please check out the movie trailer, click the DEMAND IT button,  then share it with your friends and ask them to do the same. It’s time we support films like this and add a serious dimension to our viewer playlist.

DREAMS – 2011 Extended Trailer from DreamsOnScreen Productions on Vimeo.

My poll results reflected this fact: 33.33% found the game racist; 8.33% thought it looked like fun; 0% didn’t care and 58.33% thought it was fake. However, the disclaimer was inserted days after the trailer’s debut which gave the publicity stunt away.

It is the hope of NTR, to generate awareness of  past and present day slavery. The phony gaming trailer received over 400,000 views and a deluge of comments and criticism, especially from America, because of its blatantly racist treatment of the subject. Clicking the newly inserted disclaimer takes you to an interview with the producers at NTR who explain the reason for their campaign strategy (see below).

What I found interesting was the Netherlands’ ignorance of their involvement in the slave trade, as well as the fact that modern slavery still subsists. It’s a series I would be interested in viewing, but it was unclear whether De Slavernij would eventually air in the United States.

The Dutch broadcasters seemed surprised at America’s extremely indignant reaction to the trailer. We as Americans are all too aware of slavery’s tragic impact, and live with the long term affects today.  The outrage was, in my opinion, justified. However, the Dutch series reminded me that African-Americans don’t have a corner on slavery.  Those here who would like to learn more by watching De Slavernij may not get that opportunity. Therefore, was it necessary to unleash this trailer in English if this series will be aired to only Dutch audiences?  Granted, Slavery-The Game, brought international attention to the TV series. But if the world can’t see it, what’s the point? Perhaps NTR plans to release it internationally at a later date.  By that time, will we remember or care? In conclusion, was this campaign a brilliant strategy or a just a cheap stunt?

Click here to see Slavery-The Game trailer

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Popular video blogger, Zennie Abraham, gets 30 to 50 N-word references a month on his YouTube channel, and he’s salty about it. Zennie, one of the first members of the YouTube Partner program, feels the bombardment of the N-word – especially on his channel, denigrates the brands that advertise on his pages. If YouTube objects to the ban, Zennie feels YouTube Partners should at least have the option of banning it from their channels.

In this video, Zennie states his case.  Take my poll/leave a comment. I want to know what you think.

When I was growing up in St. Louis (back in the day) my mother, Jessie Deloch exposed me to positive black role models. By age 8, I was reading “Before the Mayflower”, drawing people with a brown crayon instead of flesh tone, singing songs by Nina Simone and marveling at the Nubian beauty of Miriam Makeba.

I remember encouraging my mom to give up the Supremes wigs and hair pieces and sport a short ‘fro and hooped earrings like Miriam. She did! She wore that cropped kinky soft afro right until her death in 1985.

My Mom, Jessie Deloch

Black was really beautiful to me. I took it to heart because it validated who I was as a female and human being. “Black is Beautiful” were words of affirmation and pride.  I vowed as an advertising writer, I would represent our true beauty to the best of my ability. Typing those three words as I write this still causes my back to straighten up with pride – tempered now by a cloak of defense. Fortunately, at an early age,  I came to understand the divisiveness and destruction  being color struck  meant to me and others. Being  pancake brown, I was neither here nor there. Contrary to what I thought, darker girls considered me light. I never thought of myself that way because I was darker than my best friend, Vickie who was regarded as high yellow. I didn’t care. I learned to appreciate and embrace ALL shades and shapes of black beauty including my own.

In the 70′s, my mom and I moved to other parts of the country, (Charlottesville, VA and finally Chicago, IL). I was stunned to see my fellow black classmates weren’t as progressive in thinking. They still used the term “colored”  and spat “black” to incite and hurt others. How liberating it was to hear it and not hurt! It caressed instead of bruised. I found myself, at the tender age of 11, educating many of my fellow playmates that their “black” was actually beautiful. In the 80′s, I was dismayed to see my beloved afro go out of style in favor of sleek relaxed styles. How could such a positive state of mind become passe’?

From Afro Sheen to…African Pride???

During the disco era, light skinned women with keen features and long hair were the stuff once again. This would be cool if there were a balance. When Black Power was thriving, my fairer sisters were passed over for the darker ones. That too was unfair. Before Civil Rights, there was a popular saying, “If you’re white, you’re alright, brown stick around, black, get back”.  Today, that saying has made an explosive comeback. According to a recent controversial study released this month in Psychology Today, African-American women are the least physically attractive and desirable! The author Satoshi Kanazawa and  Psychology Today have come under fire for publishing what is considered by many a racist study. But there are  people, including blacks who may not like the study, but agree with its conclusion.

Being white or dang near close to it is preferred in videos, ads, big screens, etc..  Many young black men and women today have bought into the new era of “color struck”.

Now it’s considered merely a personal preference. I guess that’s suppose  to make it okay. Personally, I’m still hanging on to the image of Miriam and her short ‘fro and hoops.

Is the acceptance of black  beauty we fought for lost forever?

Buy the book for $10 on Austin’s website, austinkleon.com

Austin’s sense of creativity inspires me.  I got all “butterflied” in the stomach when I read his insights. It took me back to when my art, music and poems danced in the open with reckless abandon. Today I vowed to recapture that freedom.

What about you? Are you suffering from a case of creative blackout? If yes, I advise you to click the link below.  Tell me what you think. Did Austin inspire you? If you’ve already embarked on your creative journey, I want to hear about that too.

Enjoy… HOW TO STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST (AND 9 OTHER THINGS NOBODY TOLD ME)

I  often wondered why creative types got praised and lauded for their creativity and ingenuity, but were not taken seriously when it came to matters of leadership and strategic decision making. It was always the “creatives” against the “suits”, a prevailing contempt that simmered and brewed every waking day of ad agency life. Some “suits” (not all)  treated writers and artists like workers in a factory, disrespecting the creative process but wanting what it produced – ASAP! There were many creatives who not only exuded stratospheric talent but strong  business acumen. Their ability to think out of the box, contributed to it.  But this  fact was not recognized or taken seriously by some noncreative decision makers who somehow felt comfortable with promoting conformity and status quo.

Now there is a study out that substantiates what I always felt in my gut. This article by Matthew Knight for CNN, sums it up quite nicely.  I’d like to know what you think about it. Click here:  Does being creative help you climb to the top?