Shades of Us: Every Shade. Every Story. Enough.
Shades of Us
By Syreeta Ancilla Ferdinand-McNeese
Being born with lighter skin and looser curls didn't protect me from pain, it just made my pain harder for some people to recognize.
Shades of Us is my honest reflection on navigating colorism as a Black woman and the complicated space between being told I was "not Black enough" by my own community, while still being treated as "too Black" in a world shaped by racism.
This story explores the emotional weight of identity, belonging, rejection, and self-worth. It speaks to the quiet wounds that come from constantly being questioned, labeled, compared, or made to feel like you don't fully belong anywhere.
For a long time, people assumed lighter skin meant privilege. But lighter skin was never a shield for me. I never experienced the luxury of white privilege, only a different kind of Black experience.
I remember an uncle once telling me, "I thought being light-skinned meant you had privilege." I laughed, not because it was funny, but because people often confuse proximity to whiteness with protection. And those are not the same thing.
Yes, colorism is real. And yes, lighter skin can affect how people treat you in certain spaces. But it does not erase pain, insecurity, isolation, or identity confusion. It does not stop you from feeling rejected, stereotyped, or emotionally displaced.
That is why these conversations matter.
Not to divide us.
Not to compare struggles.
But to help us understand one another with more compassion, honesty, and grace.
Because the beauty and the pain of being Black exists in every shade.
And every story deserves to be seen.
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