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Jada, Willow and Gammy are joined by Jada’s lifelong friend Mia Pitts and daughter Madison Miles to reveal their own experiences with colorism, the discrimination or prejudice based on skin tone from members of the same race. Episode guests include colorism expert Chika Okoro who explains the shocking Hollywood casting notice for “Straight Outta Compton” that made her take a stand and Stacy Summers who discusses her decades-long use of dangerous skin bleaching creams.
In the episode…
Jada and Gammy on colorism within their own family
- “ I actually had the opposite in my experience…being picked on for being light skinned. And also, I remember having plenty of conversations with you [Gammy] and Aunt Karen about not revealing other heritage in my blood. It was like you’re black and that’s it.” – Jada
- “I feel like she [Gammy] had a lot of shame on having different cultures in our blood.” – Jada
“Yeah, I was teased.” – Gammy
“My grandparents were West Indian. We really didn’t have an issue with color, per se, more so with class.” – Jada
“There was a little bit of it with my grandmother. They were from Barbados and she definitely did not like dark-skinned people. I remember when I was really little, we had neighbors who were very very dark, and she didn’t want us to play with them.” – Gammy
Willow on her natural hair
- “…one of the issues for me growing up was my hair… I would look at her [my cousin] hair and be like ‘I would be so much prettier if my hair wasn’t so kinky.’” – Willow
Jada and Gammy discuss how darker-skinned men are often targeted
- “Men of darker skin also have a very very difficult time. Darker black men are targeted, that’s a real thing.” – Jada
- “And how difficult it is for them to negotiate the corporate world.” – Gammy
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