Nicole Ari Parker: “Don’t Let the Light-Skin Fool Ya”

Image courtesy of www.whudat.com

Last week actress Nicole Ari Parker appeared as a guest on the The Wendy Williams Show. When answering Wendy’s question on how she responds to women who try to attract husband actor Boris Kodjoe, Nicole stated that the women who dare challenge their bonds of matrimony have lessened since she played the role of Teri Joseph on HBO’s Soul Food. Furthermore, she went on to say that she would not hesitate in defending the sanctity of their union. “Don’t let the light skin fool ya,” was Nicole’s retort much to the satisfaction of many members of the audience (unfortunately).

I had hoped the NYU grad from Baltimore had more sense than that—reifying the perceived and illegitimate connections between skin tone and behavior. For hundreds of years lighter skin has been associated with the refined, civilized, good-natured man or woman. However, Ms. Parker reminds us that the paper bag test is not a relic confined to our past.

For more information on colorism, check out Shades of Brown: The Law of Skin Color by Trina Jones.

Light-Skinned Black Women Fare Better at Marriage

Shocking!

Just kidding, of course.

I have expected this to be true for awhile, but now I’ve got the data to back  me up.

Research shows that light-skinned black women (below the age of 30) marry more frequently than their darker counterparts. In Shedding “Light” on Marriage: The Influence of Skin Shade on Marriage for Black Females, authors Darrick Hamilton, Arthur H. Goldsmith, and William Darity, Jr. “contend that the associated shortage of desirable men in the marriage market provides those black men who are sought after with the opportunity to attain a high status spouse, which has placed a premium on having lighter skin (i.e. intensified colorism in marriage markets for black females)” (30).

Chris Rock’s New Film—Good Hair

Chris Rock addresses the color complex in his upcoming film Good Hair. Although I am absolutely thrilled he’s tackling this issue (partly because I am a fan of Chris Rock and also because I feel that colorism is major problem in the black community and beyond), I wish the film was done by a black woman. Call me a genderist first, racialist second in this instance. But perhaps the argument could be made that the film would not have the same audience appeal, had it been made by a black female comedian. I can’t think of a black female comedian with the same clout as Chris (sad, but true). The closest would be Mo’Nique, right?

And let’s be honest, many women (black, white, or whatever) still cling to the trope of the all-knowing, patriarchal man. Although black women comprise the majority of black churches across this country, black men occupy the majority (if not all) of the leadership roles. And we—women—elected this country’s first black male president this past election despite the fact that a well-qualified female candidate (who advocated universal health care) opposed him while we—women—occupy the majority of the voting power. Translation: we—women—should run this. But I digress.

Nonetheless, I am ecstatic the film was produced. I only hope that it critically examines the color complex (which it appears to do judging from the trailer) and urges us all to reexamine what we all consider to be good, acceptable, and beautiful. Kudos Chris!