Skin on Sundays

See Colors

to be colorblind
is to 
miss
so much 
beauty

Sunday,

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This poem is a reminder that “colorblindness” where skin color is concerned is not welcome. People in the world with dark skin are subjected to (and have been subjected to for a long, long time) acts of discrimination, hatred, and brutal violence, physically and mentally, openly and discretely. To live with dark skin means to live in a world that is against you, a world that is harder for you than for those with white skin. Aside from the fact that dark skin is beautiful, ignoring skin color means ignoring the history and present of injustice that society imposes upon POC, and the darker your skin, the more likely you are to face those injustices. It is not fair to ignore it. The color of a person’s skin greatly impacts their life, whether we like it or not. Also, variety is the freaking spice of life. Why would we ignore the radiance and flavor and all-around loveliness that is our human variety? By the way, this is Mimi. She is from Ghana and lives in Barcelona and is a beautiful person starting at her physical presence all the way to the depths of her soul. Her thoughtfulness, kindness, and uplifting spirit are things you cannot miss about her once you begin interacting with her. In the face of discrimination, which is just as rampant in Spain as it is anywhere toward POC, she keeps her head high and stays proud of who she is, a deeply intelligent, caring, and wise-beyond-her-years woman. She is an inspiration, and the energy she brings to a room does not disappoint.

+ an aside:

I often feel ashamed that I don’t have that much variety in skin color for my physiopoetry. The shame comes from the simple fact that I want everyone to feel equally represented here. This is a space for love, for openness, for honoring and embracing our differences, for understanding ourselves and others. I have been putting more effort into finding canvases that will represent the human race in all of its shades of skin, because without effort, I rely on volunteers only, and I guess for some reason, the people who have generally volunteered so far have lighter skin. Representation (for example in art) is important for so many reasons, including showing ppl that they are valid and welcome and loved and respected and honored in society through that representation. I will continue on my quest for Skin on Sundays to equally represent all because it is so important to me that no one feels less welcome here because of their skin color.