Essence Magazine:
By Bridgette Bartlett Royall ·Updated March 12, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
“She’s pretty for a dark-skinned girl.”
These seven words strung together carry an indescribable weight. So heavy that multiple generations have not just carried them but been encumbered by their heaviness. These seven words, and the ugly colorism they are anchored in, crushed the spirits of too many of our mothers, aunties, grandmas and other matriarchs both known
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