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I was watching a show about kids in juvenile detention facilities, and there was one boy in particular who struck a cord with me. He was really a bad kid, and had multiple charges since he'd been in his early teens relating to stealing cars and assault. But there was something positive about him... he was funny and articulate and if I was having a conversation with him I wouldn't necessarily think he was a dangerous person. But I also noticed how dark his skin was and how he looked like he'd been working out, and I wondered if there was some of a self fulfilling prophecy here. Did he start out OK and then from day 1 everyone expected him to be bad because of his color? Were people suspicious and unfriendly? Did they treat him differently?
His mom was on there too and she talked to him sincerely and told him he wasn't raised to be like this and if he didn't straighten up she wasn't going to have anything to do with him. All the other boys in there were also very dark-skinned. In this particular show I didn't see anybody who was light skinned or even biracial looking.
The reason I wonder is that my son is going to be quite dark if he turns out anything like both his birthparents and bgrandpa. I wonder how people will view him when they don't know him.
I can't really stand the thought of anyone thinking badly of my sweet, smiling little guy!! Right now at 6 months old he basically loves everyone and smiles and laughs for everyone, and he just charms the world. Everyone he meets is his best friend.
I'm sure these kids in juvenile detention are the product of a bad environment, possibly poor parenting, and poverty, but I wonder how much of a role if any does skin color play in their situations.
What are your thoughts? Has this topic actually been studied?
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Since I never read ebony I guess I'm just stumbling across this article which validates my questions in this thread!
[url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_4_63/ai_n24246405/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.55]Do light-skinned Black people have an advantage? Yes. They are likely to get hired first and may earn more money | Ebony | Find Articles at BNET[/url]
and some of the info in the related articles listed is interesting too.
Food for thought anyway!
I remember the darkening of OJ too. Shameful. I've also heard that people wouldn't "mind" taking biracial babies, because they'd be lighter. That really ruffles my feathers. :mad: Thankfully, the agency we worked with refused to allow people to check the biracial box if the adopting parents weren't also prepared to take a a fully AA baby. I mean, seriously, you are only okay with one half of the child's heritage? Off soapbox...
On a side note, I was in the bookstore the other day and found an awesome little toddler book called "Shades of Black", by Sandra Pinkney and published by Scholastic. It has kids in every shade from very light to very dark, and it describes the nuances of colors in really sweet, descriptive ways. :cheer:
Most cultures have "color tone" issues. I'm an admin. in a law firm. There was a lawyer of East Indian descent. He had the most gorgeous brown coloring but I could tell he had issues with it in India. I'm teaching my kids to look on the inside and so far they haven't had problems with regard to skin color.
manni28
I seriously don't skin tone had anything to do with the kid being in jail. Yes, some black folks have "issues" about skin tones, but it's their problem. If you look at most AA celebrities they are visibly black ( medium to Dk. brown). I don't mean any harm, but please get those negative thoughts out of your mind. I also find that when it does come to issues about skin tones most ( not all) whites don't seem to have the same "hang-ups" that some black folks do; they actually compliment us on the richness of our skin.
-Manni:flower:
Oh yea, its evident in most cultures of color. Its what you teach the kids, as opposed to fixating on the issues that count. I have both hues and inbetween in my family, to include a light and dark parent of my own. Skin tone is just there,not a brutal issue. There will always be a person or two who are sensitive enough to take such remakes at heart be it they are light or dark skinned. I read a couple related articles/responses, and this response imo got to the main issue at hand. [URL="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_6_63/ai_n24960293/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.11"]Light-skinned/dark-skinned | Ebony | Find Articles at BNET[/URL]Whenever I went on a job interview in corporate America, my concern never was if I was light enough for the job, but if the company had reached its Equal Employment Opportunity Commission quota. Both women are attractive Nubian Sisters who probably have beautiful personalities. Regardless of the rituals and attitudes of our ancestry, it is time for a paradigm shift. Wake up!
millie58
Most cultures have "color tone" issues. I'm an admin. in a law firm. There was a lawyer of East Indian descent. He had the most gorgeous brown coloring but I could tell he had issues with it in India. I'm teaching my kids to look on the inside and so far they haven't had problems with regard to skin color.
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It could have been but there were other black kids playing.
manni28
Millie:
Are sure it wasn't because the man never met a black person in person? I'm AA and from what you wrote, it sounds like he's never met a well-spoken black teen/person. I don't think it had to do with skin tone.
-Manni:flower:
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MB80sgirl
I think dark skin is beautiful. I'm hoping the baby girl we adopt (if we ever find her, we've been waiting a really long time & I'm feeling pretty discouraged about) will have very dark skin. But of course if she's lighter we'll love her just the same!As for me, I'm very pale & sunburn very easily. I'd love to have some color in my skin & be able to enjoy the nice weather more! At my job we have uniforms & in the summer we have shorts. The 1st day I wore my shorts my boss looked at my legs & said very loudly, "You need to go tanning!"
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