Artist Statement
I have two nieces. Born two months apart.
The oldest with beautiful skin rich like onyx,
and coily textured hair that stands like a crown.
The youngest melanated beautiful light amber brown,
and hair that flows wavily down.
Both Black, both very beautiful on the Blackness spectrum from one another.
However, not one niece is more beautiful than the other.”
This piece is dedicated to Kennedy, Selene, and all Black girls with beautiful skin tones beyond and between.
Both girls represent the vast diversity of skin tones, facial features, and hair textures of Blackness. However, colorism (a byproduct of White supremacy) which refers to discrimination against people with darker skin tones while privileging those with lighter skin tones, impacts each girl differently.
Related by love, both girls are accepting and embracing one another’s differences while living within a colorist society.
With love, I encourage the Black community to do the same.