As long as I can remember, people have always been teased because of their skin color.
The nappy hair jokes were funny at times, but the ones about being too dark or not dark enough hurt.
Blackish Calls Out Colorism!
Many of my students don’t even know that colorism exist.
To them it’s not even a thing.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter to them.
So I used the recent episode of Blackish to teach colorism.
Colorism is a difficult subject for many American families.
The recent episode of Blackish handled the topic with finesse.
Should Colorism Be Included In Bullying Curriculum?
Absolutely!
I address self-esteem issues with students daily.
Dark skinned girls especially are targeted and judged harshly by beauty standards.
Mostly empowering them that Black is beautiful.
It’s a fact that darker skinned students are treated differently.
Not just by teachers, peers but society.
I hear it all the time from parents who chose Ivy Prep in Atlanta for their girls.
If we don’t teach our children about colorism, it will continue.
Just like blackface, we can’t ignore this hard realities of Black history.
There are many benefits to teaching colorism,
The most important is that it provides as safe space for all students.
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.