Determined Nation Magazine Vol. 4 Iss. 1: The College Survival Guide Volume 4 Sept 2014 | Page 4

X P R ES S I O N S 12 AM (for my sistahs who are various shades of the purest black) She's so dark ... Charcoal ... Man, you're so Black you're purple ... Dang!! ... Midnight ... You are sooo pretty ... for a dark skinned girl ... Darkie ... Blackie ... 12 AM Society stays telling me that dark skinned girls are loosing, that dark skinned girls will never be beautiful And to think otherwise must certainly mean that you're delusional. And when I turn on the TV or flip through magazines, I never see a woman with skin like mine Seems to me like they'll never give a girl like me the opportunity to shine. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder but what happens when the beholder is constantly being spoon fed a dish full of distortion sprinkled with messages of what and who is beautiful? Condition the mind long enough and soon enough these thoughts will become irremovable. Seems to me that Dr. King's dream has turned into a nightmare, Color of my skin, content of my character? But only when I'm dark b/c light skin is the right skin around these parts. "Dang, you're dark! Why are you so Black? Let me get out the sun, I'm not tryna look like that ..." Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me ... Sticks and stones may break my bones but what happens when their words cut deep and every time they speak, I feel this deep pain in my heart and a little piece of shattered self-esteem? 4 By Niyankor Ajuaj 12 AM 12 AM Hey there dark girl, you're not alone. I know you get judged simply b/c of your skin tone. But see you got that type of beauty that moves slowly, and ever so holy. That type of beauty they'll never understand do don't ever let them make you feel like you are less than. You wear midnight on your skin, and the stars glitter in your eyes compliment the moon's crescent I'm your smile as it bounces off your sweet voice that echo sounds of the most graceful violin. You've been misguided b/c honey, I'm sure you are what God sees when he closes his eyelids. You are draped in night, clothed with dusk, with skin as dark as the shadows on sunny days. Love, don't fall for the cliches, don't you know you wear the motherland in your DNA? So no more soundless screams, no more silent tears, no more starring into mirrors reflected by shattered self-esteem. It's time that someone tells my sistahs who are various shades of the purest Black that we are beautiful, not in spite of but BECAUSE of our color. 12 AM. I AM 12 AM.