Should Dark Skinned Black People Decide Who Is Black?
A recent Clubhouse room titled ‘Darkskin Black People should be the Gatekeepers of Blackness’ was a true education into racism and colorism and how debates on colorism are policed.
‘Stop policing colorism debates’
The debate advanced the argument that as per the title, dark skinned people should be the ones to say who is black, what is black experience and be allowed to tell black stories. Not necessarily exclusively, but they should be centered as they are already at the center of what it means to be black.
Oftentimes, you will have heard colorism debates being policed and censored with phrases like ‘biracial people are black too’, ‘don’t be divisive’, ‘light skinned people are being attacked’, and ‘this isn’t a light-skinned vs dark skinned thing’.
Such phrases are unfortunate and often really about making people feel comfortable — making oppressive people feel comfortable — which undermines the debate itself. Being respectful in your argument, avoiding hate speech and personal attacks to individuals is usually the rules for all debates and sufficient for colorism debates as well. Why do they need extra policing? Why do dark skinned people need to have these extra limitations imposed on their expression?
‘Field hand vs house slave’
