When one sibling has darker skin than the other
Lori Tharps argues that skin hue will become more important than race.
Book: Same Family, Different Colors – By Lori L. Tharps
Book Review By: Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the author of the novels “Wench” and “Balm”. She is a visiting assistant professor in the Literature Department at American University.
Their mother was Eritrean and their father African American, but the two sisters, Lana and Asha, had vastly different experiences growing up in Brooklyn in the 1980s because of their different skin tones. When Asha was born, she was “the color of milk,” Lana said. “When I was born, I looked like a chocolate drop.” As a teenager, Lana wished she had lighter skin, while her fairer sister had no idea of her longing. [Read more]
Comments
It is important that we teach our children early on that there is only one race, the human race. It is equally important to teach them that if there had been an equal temperature distribution all over the world, everyone would have the exact same skin colour.
It is sadly superficial to discriminate against anyone because of the colour of their skin or, similarly, to demonstrate a preference for light-complected individuals over dark-complected ones, whether within a family or within the strata of society.
Nearly a million years ago, brave Africans crossed over the Strait of Gibraltar into Europe and called it home. They saw the seasonal changes and the bountifulness of the summer. They learned to store food in caves to last the long, cold winters. They also found ways to stay warm, using animal skin and building fire.
Over great ages, the dark-skinned migrants gradually began to turn light-skinned. Fact, not fiction! The production melanin beneath the epidermis serves to protect humans from the sun’s harmful ultra-violet rays and a by-product of melanin is the darkening of the skin. Fact, not fiction!
It is therefore not a coincidence that light-skinned people are found in the temperate, colder regions of the world and, conversely, dark-skinned people in the hot, equatorial regions.
The bigots, racists, haters and ignoramuses of this world should educate themselves on this incredible human story. And if or when they did, what an epiphanous, earth-shattering experience it would be.
“In India, Tharps notes that British colonization institutionalized the discrimination of people with darker skin” .
I am glad to see Lori Tharps (the rare exception) recognizes that the catalyst for the colour complex in India has colonialist origin. Coincidentally, an article was written Jan 30 on the ‘skin- whitening’ debate in India, in the Toronto Star (a paper that regularly demonizes Indians, esp Hindus, for caste discrimination, child marriages and infanticide – which all have similar outsider influences as I will show in an upcoming book critiquing historian Clem Seecharan who, too, only blames Hindus – See here https://guyaneseonline.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/32007/#more-32007).
Following is the response I sent the Star (which, based on experience I am 99.9% sure will NOT get published).
Letter
Re. India debate intensifies over skin-lightening; Jan 30/17.
Unfortunately, it’s an uphill battle which the Indian Women of Worth is fighting. The whitening creams are pushed by the very high profile Bollywood actors, Shah Rukh Khan (Emami ad) and Priyanka Chopra (Garnier ad). Ms. Chopra was even awarded the 4th highest Indian national (Padma Shree) award; and last week, the American People’s Choice Award for ‘Favourite Dramatic TV actress.
Some background is instructive. The colour barrier facing Indians was actually introduced from outside. According to the now ‘alternative facts’ Aryan Invasion Theory white-skinned Central Asians invaded India and drove the dark-skinned natives to south India. Thus, the colour dichotomy was institutionalized. Then, for a millennium until independence in 1947, India’s ruling elites were again outside white-skinned Islamic conquerors (eg., Emperor Akbar descended from Mongol Tamerlane) and followed by Europeans. Even India’s caste system was rigidly entrenched by Britain via the censuses. Formerly, caste (European ‘casta ’meaning lineage) was fluid and served the purpose as a welfare state in hard times. English language, too, was part of Britain’s way to “… form a class … between us and the millions whom we govern … Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect” (Lord Macaulay’s 1835 Minute).
Three characters evidence ‘no colour barrier’ in pre-conquest India. Hindu avatars (God incarnates) Krishna and Rama were dark-skinned. So too, was Princess Draupadi, the most important female character in the Mahabharata epic.
Veda Nath Mohabir
Growing up, I was fascinated by the ritual of “dyeing” the face, hands and feet of the bride-to-be. I was led to believe that it is a custom that pre-dates British colonialism; and it makes the ‘Dulahin’ look more radiant on the wedding day. This latter idea was founded upon equating “fair-skinned” with “radiance”. The Deity, Hanuman, was depicted as dark-skinned in the framed ‘holy pictures’ that adorned the walls of my grandparents’ home. This too, predates British colonialism.
I do not know. I am asking.
Demerwater: The equation of ‘fair-skinned’ with ‘radiance’ is limited. Radiance has many other meanings, such as ‘glowing’, ‘expressing vitality’, healthiness, exuberance, etc. People who make the limited equation are probably the ones who expect the ‘skin lightening’ effect (if at all).
So, whether a bride (even groom) is fair or dark, ‘dyeing’ or applying a ‘haldi’ paste was used for a number of reasons. One has to go back to Ayurvedic medicine to understand the benefits. Charaka, the father of (Indian) medicine compiled a tratise (Charaka samhita) on numerous Ayurvedic therapies. In Hinduism, Haldi also has spiritual as well as numerous secular/medical/health uses. So, for both the spiritual and medical/secular brides are daoubed with the paste. See this:
” The classic way to apply turmeric topically is as an “Ubtan”: a blend of turmeric, chick-pea flour, sesame or almond oil, a little fresh cream and honey. This will clear up skin blemishes, and increase the natural glow and radiance of the skin . Turmeric essential oil works wonderfully as an external antibiotic to prevent infections in wounds.
“Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old natural healing system of India . It is called by 46 different synonyms, including: “pitta” (yellow), “gauri” (brilliant), and all words that indicate “night” 10 . This comes from a tradition of married women applying turmeric to their cheeks in the evening in preparation for a visit from Lakshmi (The Goddess of Prosperity) 7 . In Ayurveda, turmeric is believed to balance the three doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha). It has been used by Ayurvedic healers as medicine taken internally in the form of fresh juice, boiled tea, tinctures, or powder, and topically as creams, lotions, pastes, and ointments …..
There are many ancient Ayurvedic formulas utilizing turmeric. Turmeric also has a special action to purify and nourish the blood and skin. External application stops pain and swelling, heals wounds rapidly, and treats many skin diseases ranging from acne to leprosy.
http://www.ayurvedacollege.com/articles/students/turmeric
Also, see here (but as usual, based on the false Aryan Invasion Theory history, the dating is short by 2,500 years). To prove my point, Charaka was born 300 BC, so how can Ayurveda, which he documented, be only 2,500 years or just 200 years before him. Isn’t it more likely that he was documenting therapies which were many hundreds/thousands years old? Also, Krishna and Princess Draupadi in the Mahabharata, were depicted in their society of 5,000 years ago. Nevertheless, see here:
“Cosmetics
Extracts have been added to creams as a colouring agent, and traditionally women would rub turmeric into their cheeks to produce a golden glow. One of the main yellow pigments in turmeric is curcumin (described above under Western medicine).
In Hindu wedding ceremonies, brides would rub turmeric over their bodies. Newborn babies had turmeric rubbed on their forehead for good luck, and they would be given a turmeric necklace to wear to keep away evil spirits.
“Yellow and orange are both special colours in Hinduism, yellow being associated with Vishnu, and as the colour of the space between chastity and sensuality. Orange signifies sacrifice, renunciation and courage. Originally associated with the sun as part of solar symbolism, the colours were absorbed into the mythology of Hinduism.
“Chakras in Hindu belief are mystical centres of orientation. Orange represents the sacral chakra, and yellow represents the solar plexus chakra. This yogic concept is of the inner cosmology of a being discovered through meditative practice. It is best described in the tantras or texts important in Tantric Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. In Buddhism yellow is the colour of the Bodhisattva Ratnasambhava.
http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/curcuma-longa-turmeric
BTW: The Mahabharata, which I refer to is reworked as a novel: “Sons of Gods” by Guyanese, Sharon Westmaas.
https://guyaneseonline.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/sons-of-gods-new-novel-by-sharon-westmaas/
Veda Nath Mohabir
@ Ron Saywack, the oft repeated ‘there is only one race, the human race’ is ludicrous.There are stark differences among species that justify further classification of sorts. It shouldn’t just stop at Homo sapiens because no other form of matter does. Think trees, gases, soil, mammals, etc. I guess for the sake of science we should say ‘breed’ and not ‘race’ since animals (and we are part of the kingdom – Animalia) are further categorized into ‘breeds.’
On another note, I remembered when we were growing up, I was about 7/8 and my brother was 8/9, our neighbour next door, a white skin black woman and dark skin black male (both were UG professors), had two daughters – one was dark skin and the other light skin. The dark skin sister, who I thought was prettier, liked my brother but my brother liked the light skin sister. Recently, I got to thinking of them and decided to pull out my albums to look back at pictures of them. And actually, the light skin sister was prettier – with perfect features; soft hair, straight nose, thin lips, bright clean eyes, nice teeth. What I then realized was that the black skin sister actually had a nicer disposition and I guess this made her seem prettier to me.
Note….The rest of this entry has been deleted by the editor.
I rather like the analogy in this conversation:-
” Y’know, God was color blind! ”
“Why do you say that?”
“When He made a mind, He did not see the color of the skin He wrapped around it!”
My experience is, that when the word “race” is used, without a prefix like ‘horse-“; or a qualifying context like, “the hare and the tortoise”; “the race for quality has no finishing line”; then it is in reference to skin color, face-features and perceived behavior.
Stereotyping is often an all-encompassing term.
Which brings me to my bitter-sweet relationship with the English Language.
It is so reactive!
It is almost a living, breathing entity; isn’t it?
I have to thank Professor Nunn (UG, 1966 or thereabouts). He showed the ‘evolution of meaning’ of the word ‘Cardinal’, from a bird to the “hinge” around which Catholic Doctrine pivoted.
So nowadays, I have to look forward to the list of words that have been added to the Language this past year; and enlarge my vocabulary.
An anecdote: I once asked a friend, “Is google an accepted word? Is it in the dictionary?”
To which he replied, “I never use a dictionary anymore! I just google it!”
The very little that I know of the ‘Ayurveda’ concept has been distilled from my grandmother’s gentle counsel, as she ‘(a)nointed’ me down with coconut oil. “Never rub your skin with anything you would not eat”. Many years later, I learned that the skin was the largest organ of the body; that it presented the first line of defence against harmful products; but that an oil formulation of an organophosphate compound (like malathion) would penetrate the skin more readily than a water formulation of the same product.
But here is where it becomes quite interesting. Beneath the skin is a layer of fat – a secondary line of defense!
This layer of fat would absorb and store a product like DDT; until a threshold of toxicity is reached. There is abundant literature to show what happens next.
Youth has many (and pleasurable) benefits; but it has one serious disadvantage. Our priorities are ‘misplaced’. Mine were! And let us leave it at that.
I have had cause to regret that I did not pay greater to the ‘poultices’ – made of edible products – that would bring an abscess to a ‘head’ – and draw out, (by osmosis?) the toxic pus contained therein.
I wish that I paid more attention to the content, rather than tune and rhythm, of Bill Roger’s “Weed Woman”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wXT7Ksv6E