A Look At Blackness In China

I find the story below very insightful. Race is a complicated thing and in places lacking any real diversity, every racial interaction is a learning experience for all. It brings out curiosity and shows our common humanity, but can also reveal deep roots of ignorance and intolerance.

A Look At Fair Skin Obsession In India

In most places on Earth where you find brown populations, you will also find a color gradient ranging from fair to dark. Though this sometimes came about naturally as different related ethnic groups mixed, often, the fair coloring was provided by their European conquerors. A common impact of European colonialism is the desire for those conquered brown populations to have the features of their conquerors for social advancement. Lighter and Whiter means more beautiful and desired. Though you would think that such thinking would be a relic of the past, apparently it is alive and well in India.

The British were the colonial power which took control of India. The vid belows gives you the history basics.

What I didn’t know until recently was how obssessed Indian communities still are about fair skin color. In fact, on one radio program I heard recently, I learned that some people from India even avoid sun exposure unless they get a tan. The point of this is to learn more about how brown is viewed outside of America. If you are a Black person traveling to or doing business in India, you might very well be negatively judged based on the complexion of your skin. Below are some videos to give you a good sense of what’s going on.

More Soccer Racism – This Time In The Netherlands

Racist chants were directed towards soccer player Jozy Altidore in a match in the Netherlands. This actually surprises me as you think of the Netherlands as fairly progressive, being the home of Amsterdam after all. But I’ve been casually following these incidences for the past two years and I can only conclude that soccer in Europe brings unfortunately attracts the good and the bad. And I’m sure it was the Dutch version of White trash which were acting a fool. Still, many of these talented Black players have to make tough decisions to play in these European leagues and be paid well but have to deal with bouts of racism. I have always found it interesting that racism seems to come out when people are passionate about a cause and a minority represents the other side. We look for differences to focus our hate on. I have known white people who in one breath say they love some black athlete on their favorite team and in another drop the N-bomb when speaking about something Obama has done to their disapproval. Nonetheless, I will be creating soon a Blackneks travel tab, to highlight some of the countries and places best to avoid because of racism, crime, or unstable conditions.