Shades of Black America

Note: Although my story took place at Hampton University, it is not a HAMPTON problem... it is all over #wakeup
Thanks for watching! This is a documentary that I shot and edited about how color (Black/White/ Light-Skin/ Dark-Skin) still matters. Done at Hampton University in 2008- the beginning of my senior year. By Keah Moffett
Interviewed many students and got some interesting answers.
For my resume reel.

[@charlesechapman6340]

Keah, Thank you for putting this documentary together. You did a fine job.

[@Dai.tari33]

Veruska Williams is not lightskin lmfaoo

[@SnowFoxParty]

Yeah she is brown lol

[@Thobza_Mhlongo]

She is light.

[@BlakeBarbieDoll]

Good video. I love the way you edited. VERY informative.

[@monabeck007]

I want to thank you for putting together a wonderful video.

[@nickelwindow53]

@TheSKYizFalling Its genetics Darker skin is seen as more masculine and lighter skin is seen as feminie thats why you get the Dark Dad light Mom complex.

[@lovethecaribbean1]

This is a brilliant short documentary

[@Ilovelucyclassics]

this was a great documentary ^^

[@tigerpridegirl]

Thank you so much for sharing! I truly think that this is still a major issue in our African American community which is horrible. It seems like it's been such a long struggle to get to where we are now, but I look around and realize that we still have so far to go. We've gotta be hopeful though! :)

[@anewmeePassion]

but what about biracials with darker skin and "blacker features" are they just black. What about black families like mine with multiple shades, but black parents? The lighter ones must say they are mixed? My god sister has light skin, green eyes, and brown hair. Yet her only mixture is her great grandma, so I guess she is no longer black. This will create more separation in the black community.

[@Naturalnubiansister9]

This is a brilliant short Docu touchining briefly the issues we have in our community. I live in the UK and the same situation. I wasn't at all surprised by by the answers people gave regardinging skin preference. 3 days ago I was with some friends for her childs naming ceremony @ her mothers house (Predominantly dark skinned Nigerians) with my 3 yr old daughter and commented on her dark and light skin doll (that i made for her as none in store) saying that the lighter one was more acceptable.

[@ceenahoo]

this was really well produced. Big ups to Hampton! :) I went to UVA, so I have to have some love for my VA unis.

[@Zest4God]

you hit the nail right on the head! In was thinking the same thing lol!

[@gambit1357]

Excellent Job!

[@Thedarksecret1]

I see your point. Thanks for the response.

[@emilybanire1050]

This was very informative I am not from US and never heard of the paper bag test before

[@bossman72787]

When I attented Hampton (class of '10), I was considered medium/brown skinned. Now I work in Ghana and I'm considered an obronie, translation: white man. This was a total mindfuck! Color is largely a matter of perspective and culture and we put waaay too much importance on it.

[@gregcooper7889]

love the beginning song

[@EbonyGirlSpeaks]

Very well done.

[@DuanteAbercrombie]

First View/ First Comment...great job Ms. Moffett....

[@hermosaflor10]

Love this, you really did shade a light on this subject that has been wiped under the rug. Until this day (Colorism) still exists it’s disgusting! and to have a mentality is horrible!

[@Kyal784]

I'm with Kirby that said colorism "is ridiculous and disgusting at an HBCU" and also I'd like to add, in GENERAL! This was interesting and a well done project. It can be a very hurtful issue to discuss on both sides of the fence. I think the fact that the Black community comprises so many different shades is very unique and special.

[@jgraggs76]

what da is you if your caramel/honey colored? da same shade as a paperbag?

[@nosoupforyoukramada7005]

So true.

[@k5elevencinc0]

thank you!!

[@TwinsIncProductions]

Great Story! I too am guilty of being color struck. A lot has to do with parenting too. Now that I'm older I find myself revisiting a lot of views that were instilled in me and changing them to what I feel is right.

[@trustfull81]

where is part 2

[@OneSummerSky]

Wow, SHOCKING documentary. Especially for someone coming from Europe. It really makes me ITCH.

[@holloween2011]

@kdmofo you are so right! most of the videos that you find on this subject will either be mean, or filled with people telling us what they think we want to hear so they dont look bad. But these people gave there full on no BS honest opinion, while staying at an educated state of conversation during the interview.

[@joejoerai]

people of different color and shades are only going to be to truly treat each other with time, and A LOT of time. if you think of how long things have been desegregated in this country, it is so small since the beginning of society as we know it.

[@Mulatto4Metal]

Amen to that!

[@StyleYaa]

thats a question I was asking

[@ybishy]

WOW! just wow O_o

[@OneSummerSky]

@kdmofo You're welcome. No worries, I wasnt referring to your story. On the contrary, your documentary was very thought-provoking. I was merely responding to what the student mentioned (0:54) about her fellow-students, whose daily conversations are apparently about hair and skincolour. Am looking forward to your future documentaries :) Best,

[@TheStacylo]

Wonderful way to share how people feel. Im black and I believe that all shades are beautiful. Black people need to learn how to love themselves and dont limit yourselves to think that "lighter" is better. What matters is whats on the inside honestly!

[@MiSs215Live]

Right!

[@KeahMoffett]

That's precisely why I asked you for a definition.....

[@ABritt06]

Exactly....we are about the same complexion I could be slightly darker but I don't consider myself light skinned. Light skinned is like that girl in the video named Kirby Mullins.

[@yak6ex]

At 5:03 is that dude wearing a dog collar and dog tag?

[@ImThatRandomGrrrl]

The girl that they showed before him wasn't light skinned but was acting like she was too!

[@B4IRUTUARU16]

and how old are you missy

[@ViolentPeace7]

the big guy in the brown hoody is the man

[@sunflowerg2872]

I couldn't agree more

[@zushiba]

Africa as the cradle of humanity is the birthplace of all of us. White, Black, Asian etc.

[@algrand90]

wow its the first time that a hear about skin color discrimination between black people

[@supspud]

..Until Blacks as a whole learn to deal with what was done to us and learn to love themselves instead of sweeping their problems under a rug using alcohol, drugs, sex, self degradation, bling, Cadillacs, clothes, shoes, rims, hating upon each other to cover and conceal the pain, humiliation and helplessness that has been passed down through each generation-we will never regain any semblance of self love or self worth. People who love themselves don't hurt other people.

[@RukiaBlackBlazer]

why is my Trinidadian flag fly at that school RED, WHITE & BLACK ?????? DOES ANY ONE KNOW? PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME... THANKS.

[@Galanttttt]

I agree with you 100%. It should and always be about the person. And if you don't mind me saying so, I hope you take no offense. This could be a sensitive subject for you. However I won't say its never prejudice, because in some cases thats exactly what it is. But note, it can also be who or what you're attracted too. A woman once told me she prefers a guy who is athletic, tall, dark skin and bald. Thats what did it for her. I wouldnt say shes prejudice because of what shes attracted to.

[@toriey228]

My people my people.im so sad for us.

[@paragons00]

age old story, but well put together

[@82ddw]

Man the girl can sing at the end

[@Tiphany757]

the girl at 1:48 IS NOT light skinned, im confused.

[@TonyFrnThaLand]

Tiphany757 she is

[@B4IRUTUARU16]

I prefer unique blonde hair and blue eyes thank you very much

[@ABritt06]

I agree

[@sweetesttemptation22]

'light skin would be home & dark skin would be an exotic vacation'...What?

[@sexyyoungin287]

the girl that said she was lightskin was def, caramel not light i hate when females do that, and the dude that said he wanted somebody like him with nice hair and nice skin i dont see either one lol but i wish racism in our community would stop, be proud of who you are you have to live with it for the rest of your life.

[@sewblue187]

Yes they both blowed me😂😂😂

[@MrSweetnibblets]

exactly

[@schnitty6208]

Why is this only happening in America? Australia (Where I live + I'm African Australian) has so many Africans and so many shades of black and we still get along well. We believe that we should because at the end of the day we're all from the same continent and that we need to help each other out NOT discriminate others. We don't see Caucasian people saying #TeamPale and #TeamTan Aye? We just need to get along!!! Cause i'm sick of this bullshit!

[@lovethecaribbean1]

@yak6ex She is light skinned you've got to remember she is in doors look at the blackness of her glasses and compare that with her skin tone.

[@GGLebo23]

@kdmofo Yeah. KZbin search india skin whitening. They have a BUNCH of commercials and they are horribly sick. I couldn't believe somebody would put that on TV.

[@ImThatRandomGrrrl]

SInce I seem to be so oblivious to your comment, please explain to the class as to what you mean.

[@marraemarrae]

im pretty light&i have (real) long hair & my parents and brother are darkskinned i get ignorant questions from black ppl all the time about it, so now w that being said i wanna know how are light skinned ppl not "real" black ppl? (there goes seperation right there) we dont seperate ourselves or think we're better darkskinned ppl try to seperate us.

[@Phantomlyne]

I've seen this too many times to count on the east coast b 4

[@tonyktown]

With the females, Kelly Willett (in my opinon) was the absolutely most drop dead gorgeous of all of them.

[@dazzlingangel443]

yh, i see what you mean

[@BuffyunaTV]

Im sorry but I HOLLERED when that boy said he wanted a girl with nice hair/skin like him. I mean his face alone was composed of numerous shades, and that acne was not the tea. But gon head for the confidence!

[@Chinique430]

Well, Im VERY light skinned and always wished I was a lil darker lol. I hate getting sunburned smh

[@BoyChibi]

lol the fat guy at 4:56 is funny

[@guillermone1]

I am not sure what you were attempting to state in you post. However, If I understood correctly people from the DR, PR and Mex are also black. Well, let us be clear here and not confuse things. But most people from Latin America are people of color, being a person of color does not necessarily imply or mean that you are black. It just means that you are non-white but in a variety of shades. Does colorism also exist in Latin Ame? Yes is does, but that is also true all over the world.

[@DeserveLiberty]

An interesting and candid project. Parts of it expose the results of actually teaching racism by always claiming the victimhood when it does not exist. When will we be able to recognize the inherent, God-given value and dignity of every human being? Where is the love?

[@MyAnointedPen]

4:16-5:39 Wow!

[@getogatocat]

5:33 Nice skin w/ all your acne?

[@LanaLove23]

The girl that i would say is light skinned is the girl with the big earrings and short haircut in the beginning. That girl with the glasses at 1:51 is NOT LIGHT SKINNED. This is the major problem in tha black community. People self proclaiming theyre light just because theyre not jet black wtf.

[@Galanttttt]

Hello Living1word. As I was about to reply to kdmofo, I thought I'd respond to your comment. First "We live in a SICK world" Absolutey, I couldn't agree more. Discrimination? We are all guilty of it at time or another. Note, discrimination isn't always black and white, lighter or darker. It comes in other forms as well. It is money-or a lack of it-that determines whether someone is of the lower, middle, or upper class. Yet, there are other class indicators, such as education, and literacy.

[@ImThatRandomGrrrl]

Medium brown is when you are a brown skinned individual who is considered too light to be dark skinned and too dark to be light skinned. A very good example would be Denzel Washington.

[@wakeupworld100]

I dnt know. Thats why I wanted "IT" to show its face. I challenged it to show who they were because I showed my face. It made excuses on why not to. So it lost the debate haha.

[@Naturalnubiansister9]

@lovethecaribbean1 I wasn't too surprised when the comment was made about my daughters doll as the people who made the comment were my friends who over the years have become more westernised. I know thier comments were due to being brought up and influenced by western society and from thier own experiences of others commenting on thier skin tone.

[@werrrt0]

WOW! You are such a Beautiful and seem to be an intelligent young lady. I am about to Faint. Please post more videos presenting excellent informant like this video. Thank you for posting.

[@jigmanx]

i'm Japanese and Iraqi, i'm I Black?

[@xg832]

@MrJimmyjojo Thanks for the correction my English teacher! Now I know why I dropped English as a BA degree LMAO!!!!!!! hahahahahahah

[@B4IRUTUARU16]

well take the god damn compliment :)

[@jairousparker2311]

I've always hated this ignorance among us, starting with hearing it from within my very own family. Hair texture, skin tone and all the superficial BS that didn't change the fact that we were BLACK. I'm usually an optimist, but I don't ever believe this will end. No, we don't all look alike but's too political and many of us still play the fame in order to change. But then again who knows, some of our people were lucky enough to have never been enslaved.

[@gcsugirl]

Glad I didn't go to a HBCU. I hung out with all nationalities, races and lol skintones.

[@sunflowerg2872]

What do you mean "spare thier feelings"?

[@sunflowerg2872]

I completely agree people look at being black as a burden or a disgrace so they hide it with statemtnts like "im indian , hispanic and white" I sit thier and think look how enslaved we are mentally. We won't even accept our own race. We need to realize that being black is a great thing and if we keep wishing we were white or a different race how are we aver going to survive as a people. W can't keep letting society tell us were inferior because we arn't.

[@gemdre]

So if a guy or girl is light skinned and has a horrible character apposed to a dark skinned person or someone of Italian, Irish, Polish, decent, etc. the choice for a partner would first be based on the so called "race" or skin color???? That's sad. There are people who will either spend their lives alone or segregate themselves, never travel abroad, only look for jobs, a home where "their" people are. Wow.

[@constancetruvette7947]

In my immediate family,we come in all hues! We,were taught, to value our uniqueness,because of this,we all feel comfortable in our own skin! It saddens me to see,children,who think they are not considered,valuable,because of the color of their skin! What happened to I'm black,and,Im proud?was is just a cliche?Also a Bi-racial child, should never ,have to choose,which race that they represent,although,society,will sometimes try to extricate them from choosing who they are!!

[@TheBigfranco1]

@chigasaki06 I didn't know that, I'm not black I just assumed that these historically black colleges didnt allow non blacks. I guess you learn something everyday

[@jellybelly3000]

@BuffyunaTV me too...lol

[@QUeensNYCUSA]

5:31 When I was young I wanted them to look like me, more ya know, nice hair nice skin. Nappy hair with a cowlick and acne.... Yea nice hair, nice skin.

[@CerebralTheReal1]

I think some people are trippin..black people hung out in my school who all looked different..now yeah some are ignorant but I never witnessed a whole lot of it..and skin dolor don't have a damm thing to do with somebody hair texture

[@GestaltSupernova]

That white girl is so brave. I couldn't really go to a black college, but i also could not go to an overwhelmingly white college either.

[@tatum635]

this is crazy most black people in america are mixed down the line and might have 1 dark parent and 1 light parent. my brother is light and im dark so he is mixed and im not?? smdh

[@witchplease9695]

Yea I'm definitely not going to Hampton. I'm medium brown skinned and if this is how discriminatory this school is then hell no, I'm not going if I have to be hated on for being darker than a paper bag.

[@marshapple]

i have dated the blackest black and the lightest light skinned. i have even dated outside of my race. i dont care what you look like. its you facial features and your personality that counts

[@BlackAmericanIndia]

Sorry. Black American men can be attractive to whoever they want. Be it lightskin long-real hair (loose curls not kinky 4A or 4B textures). I am the darkest child among my siblings, yet I got over the color issue when I met darker skin beautiful people from other parts of the world.

[@cjojay]

Oh my God. When will black people in America just LIVE without all this baggage. Good grief! Just accept each other as human beings of equal value.

[@cj222100]

The reporter is pretty

[@newnimprovesT3]

thats just what i was going to say

[@sarabower1]

36 thats me in the pic

[@sarabower1]

thats me