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Vanessa Williams recalls 'hurtful' backlash from the Black community after her historic Miss America win

Phillykingransom said:
So, sunday is some kind of special day to not post nudes?

Also I know it isn't the forum for that but someone said post her nudes and that's what I did.
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Sunday is not a workday so there’s a good chance they are not in the office. You could post it just spoiler it.
 
Eh, I can see it from her point of view. Let’s be honest tho, they weren’t gonna let not dark skin female win that at that time. Regardless things seemed to pan out for her in the long run.
 
Hazeleyes said:
If we want to be real and honest, she did win for being light skin. This is coming from a light skinned Black woman.
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Eh. I wouldnt say all that.

Being light skin certainly helped her cause and they definitely were not giving it to a dark skin blk woman tho
 
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BlackRain said:
You ever consider that maybe she didn't really care about white folks opinions, outside of threats to her safety, but because she's also Black the criticism that came from Black people stung the most?

Also, yeah the shit was there. I remember hearing my mom talk about that shit because she used to love those damn Miss American pagents and rooting for every Black woman every year. Now the whole debate in general about light folks and being judged for their skin tones is another discussion itself because there's nuances involved that make some folks actually serious, and others just trying to vicitimize themselves. But niggas is lying if they say that some folks don't have an irrational dislike of Black people lighter than a certain skin tone based on their own insecurities.
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Preach.
 
JohnSmithCAN said:
The crab's barrel mindset.

If one seemingly successful black person is light skinned, her own fellows are going to maul her apart. If she's dark skinned, they are going to belittle her. If she's medium skinned, they are going to find any excuse to spit on her face. If she's skinny or thin, they will ask her to get fat. And if she get fat, they will ask her to lose weight. If she originates from abroad, they are going to scream about "N***o Genocide" and policing about her Blackness, even if they all know they are one of the most badly positioned populations in the world to ask whoever are "pure blooded" Blacks (what the hell is even a "pure blooded Black"? Do you have ever followed Anthropologics and History in classes?) . If she's homeland, they will eventually gun her down. If she originates from the Motherland, they gonna throw bananas on her doorstep and complain later about why there has a lack of black unity.

People are never happy. ?
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Do you have anything to refute about, @Dwitty ?
 
JohnSmithCAN said:
Do you have anything to refute about, @Dwitty ?
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Yes. But my issue with the 'crabs in a bucket' mentality is a completely different issue. I'd rather keep to the topic of Vanessa and her claims. She was quoted saying she felt people denigrated her for not being black enough. Or that she only won due to her skin tone. If she feels that way, then those are her sentiments. However through my experiences and observations in America, I don't find anything in those claims to be false or misleading. She would not have won if she were darker and I don't believe it to be wrong for people to state such. I also wouldn't put this in the category of crabs in a bucket. It certainly doesn't help her appeal that she then went on to resign in disgrace.

She was the first black american to win. Yet the fact remains it's a subjective contest with subjective judges that is overwhelmingly determined by appearance. It isn't her fault that her skin is lighter, it isn't her fault that all the history before her that marked darker skin as lesser than. The disingenuous claim that her skin color had nothing to do with her victory in a subjective contest in America about beauty, is her fault. It's so ludicrous that she even goes on to attempt to qualify it with remarks of her other qualities “They kind of dismissed my talent, my intellect, and my achievement." If those qualities weren't enough to keep her In the house when pressure came to strip her of the title, how could they possibly be impactful enough to get her foot in the door. When it appeared that she was a pornstar, they didn't care she was intelligent, they cared that she was sullying the wholesome, pretty brand. When they picked her they didn't care for her intelligence they cared that she looked desirable. They cared that even though she was black she was still light enough to be desirable. She didn't win in spite of being black, she didn't win solely because she was black, but being the right amount of black did effect her position in the contest.

There is a prejudice that lighterskinned black people benefit from, but that doesn't validate or invalidate their feelings, struggles, or triumphs

Also odd that she feels valid in her ire over the lightskin prejudice being brought up at all. But won't add context that maybe some people feel ire over how the first and at the time only black woman was forced to resign. She had a chance to be an icon and she fucked it up.

Your crabs in a bucket comment is interesting though. Per usual.
 
This is very much a 2 things can be true situation. Anybody who denies the fact that lighter skinned people, especially women, aren't propped up solely for being light by some is an idiot. Also anyone who denies that some folks take out their own personal insecurities on lighter skinned people is also in denial. The main difference is one affects people on a personal level while another affects people on an institutional level.
 
Hazeleyes said:
Imagine people trying to tell another light skinned Black woman that the privilege we have isn’t real, lmao.
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Women have to stop framing arguments like this. Not to single you out, but I was on a Zoom Happy Hour Friday where for every topic, at least one chick used the "How you going to tell a woman..." line rather than just addressing the argument made.

He didn't say that light skin privilege wasn't real. He said that she had other qualities in addition to her light skin contributed to her winning. He's right. After all, she wasn't the only light skinned in beauty pageants at the time and she was also competing against white women, so saying she won because of her light skin isn't completely accurate. Saying that her light skin gave her an advantage over darker skinned women who were bringing just as much or more to the table would be better.
 
The Lonious Monk said:
Women have to stop framing arguments like this. Not to single you out, but I was on a Zoom Happy Hour Friday where for every topic, at least one chick used the "How you going to tell a woman..." line rather than just addressing the argument made.

He didn't say that light skin privilege wasn't real. He said that she had other qualities in addition to her light skin contributed to her winning. He's right. After all, she wasn't the only light skinned in beauty pageants at the time and she was also competing against white women, so saying she won because of her light skin isn't completely accurate. Saying that her light skin gave her an advantage over darker skinned women who were bringing just as much or more to the table would be better.
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I said what I said and what I said was just fine.

Period.
 
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