BACK TO THE DAYS OF RIPPLE AND NADINOLA

You’ve probably heard India Arie pop back into the news the past week.  She’s got a new single and the controversy isn’t about the music, it’s about her skin color.  She insists she did not bleach her skin, despite appearing shades lighter on the cover for her new single, “Cocoa Cutter.”

I come from a family where each of us (three siblings in all) have a different complexion.  With me being the “brownest.”  It was never an issue for anyone in my immediate household, but boy did it cause concern for relatives.  Especially those down-south.  I recall how everyone was always trying to patronize me by telling me that my complexion was really pretty and that I had nice features.  Another way of saying, “too bad you’re chocolate, but you’re not totally messed up.”

When my daughter, who is in college, tells me that things really haven’t changed that much and the boys really still prefer the fair-skinned and mixed-race girls to the golden brown beauties, I dismiss her claims as “all in her head.” 

Where’s Spike Lee?  I think it’s time they re-released “School Daze” for a new generation.