In the wake of the Candice Braithwaite and Rochelle Humes controversy, we hear from activist, attorney and author of This is Why I Resist, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu – who says we must not pit Black women against each other, but instead hold our TV Networks to account.
When Black women talk about colourism, it’s time to pay attention and listen, because there are intersecting nuances to this Black pain. Focusing on one layer alone just doesn’t cut it. The social media uproar over Candice Braithwaite and Rochelle Humes brings colourism to the forefront following an already disturbingly tense year of dehumanising the lived experiences of Black people.
‘We can’t talk about the dehumanisation of Black women without talking about colourism’
The outrage at the decision of TV Networks to commission a program on the high mortality rate of Black maternal and pregnancy related deaths with light skinned Rochelle Humes as presenter, but reject a similar program to be presented by dark skinned Candice Braithwaite is not new. It has deep historical resonance for Black women – especially darker skinned Black women. Rejecting the opportunity for Candice to co-present with Rochelle only enforces this. We can’t talk about the dehumanisation of Black women without talking about colourism.
In my book, This Is Why I Resist, I point out that, as though being stigmatised for being Black is not enough, the shade of our skin tone is also the subject of discrimination. Known as colourism, this discrimination divides Black women who are already marginalised for their race and gender by bestowing preferential treatment to lighter skinned Black Women.
The obsession with lighter skin is because of its proximity to Whiteness and the inherited prejudice from legacies of slavery and colonialism that dehumanised the Black skin tone as inferior. Colourism is a double-edged sword – it is racism reproduced by White Supremacy to further prejudice Blacks against Blacks. It is the Stockholm Syndrome of racism because it permeates the Black communities it subjugates so that even within them, lighter skinned Black Women are treated with preference.
‘The blame lies with TV Networks, not Candice or Rochelle’
However, it can also draw ire against light skinned Black women as exemplified by some of the negative social media comments against Rochelle Humes – which, in my opinion, are totally unwarranted. The blame lies squarely with the TV Networks not with either Rochelle or Candice; we should support both.
