When I think of the color of black folks it’s “BROWN SKIN.” India Arie’s lyrics come to mind: “Brown skin, you know I love your brown skin, I can’t tell where yours begin, I can’t tell where mine ends…etc.

LisaRaye McCoy, co-directecd her first feature film “SKINNED”, which deals with colorism within our black communities. Dark Skin vs Light Skin. The Brown Paper Bag Test. Dividing our race leads us to developing racism within our own communities and truthfully we can’t afford the separation.

Our views on the way we see “BLACK FOLKS” “BROWN SKIN” people goes further back than what we can imagine. The William Lynn speech ( a discussion for another time) is an address purportedly delivered by a certain William Lynch (or Willie Lynch) to an audience on the bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony. Some say the letter is a hoax, but you be the judge of that. I know most of us have friends of all SHADES OF BROWN and we treat them all the same. Let us not let SOCIETY dictate to us how we should treat one another because of the color of our SKIN….IF HAVING BROWN SKIN IS DAMN DEGRADING THAN WHY IN THE HELL DO WE HAVE ALL OF THESE TANNING SALONS AND PRODUCTS.

OH, BY THE WAY, FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA LOOKED STUNNING TONIGHT IN HER YELLOW DRESS AND BROWN SKIN.

Wake up everybody no more sleeping in bed…when these words run through your mind what do you think?

As I look at our society today and the issues that plagues our communities it seems we’ve rolled back the hands of times to the 1940’s/1950’s. Here we are in the 21st century and we have so much racial tension. Never would I have believed that a white police officer would not be arrested, indicted, or procecuted for killing an unarmed black man…..Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Oscar Grant and many more. We’ve marched, we’ve protested, we’ve boycotted and we’ve had sit ins. Well, now it’s time to get in and fit in. We can no longer stand by idled and watch our communities be unrepresented in our cities and counties. It’s time for each of us to participate in our city, county and state politics. Get up off your ASSETS and get involved. Someone reading this just said, “I don’t know where to start.” You can start by participating in your local city council meetings. Start going to your local school district meetings. Volunteer at your childs or grandchilds school. Change comes when we demand change. Change comes in your community when you let your local government know the needs of your community. When they don’t hear from your they overlook you. Believe me when I say, if your not interested in your community, there are not interested in your community…..GET INVOLVED I SAY, GET INVOLVED!!!