Dear Black Girl (Gem)

Dear Black Girl seeks to encourage young girls to embrace and be proud of their different skin tones, black features and other physical differences such as disabilities and disorders. We wish to normalize differences in physical appearance and bodily features while teaching our young girls be true to themselves and others. We want to teach our children that there is beauty in uniqueness and that everybody cannot have one specific type of look and that is the factor that makes them who they are, that make them beautiful in their own way. Not only are our kids being bullied but we should also consider that they are sometimes the bullies, sometimes they are the ones who are insensitive. It could be something simply such as staring too long at someone who is physically challenged or just simply looks different than what they are accustomed to.It can be a bit harsher if they exclude a child or get excluded themselves because they are perceived as ‘different’. These conditions lead to self-hatred given that no one has control over their skin color, features or physical appearance. Hence, if a child is born with dark skin and learns that dark skin is not valued by her peers, community or society generally, the youth may develop feelings of shame. This is especially true if the child is unaware of colorism’s historical roots and lacks friends and family members who shun skin color bias. Without an understanding of racism and classism, it’s difficult for a child to understand that no one’s skin color is innately good or bad. We want to build up our girls so no one else can tear them down. Children are the world’s most innocent and pure human beings, they are like uncut diamonds; their beauty has not been shaped in any particular form by the world, well at least upon till they have been exposed and has undergone polishing from society to shape them into what they think is fitting. A quote by Haim Ginot, child psychologist says that “Children are like wet cement whatever falls on them makes an impression.”