SXU Event: Dark Girls Documentary

By Sydney Bennett

SXU EVENT: Dark Girls Documentary Screening

Over the summer I saw a trailer for a documentary titled Dark Girls. The trailer featured interviews from darker skinned African American women giving accounts to the negativity they face because of their skin color. The trailer immediately touched me. I knew that this topic is not often openly addressed though most people know about it to some extent. So, I was excited when I found out that Saint Xavier University’s SSP program was taking students to see the screening at DuSable Museum as a cultural event.

As the students who had signed up gathered in the waiting area to leave for the DuSable Museum, I observed the students that were going. There were a couple of non-African American students, one guy, the rest were African American girls. Not so shocking, most of the girls that came were darker skinned.

Dark Girls began with a very young and gorgeous dark skinned girl saying that she wasn’t “black” and her mom describing how she did not like to be associated with such dark skin. As the documentary progressed many interviews were shown from mostly adult women who had suffered deep pain from being dark in a world where it is looked down upon. There were men featured with an array of opinions. Historians, sociologists, and therapists were featured who added insight to the root and effects of the epidemic.

Midway through the film I started to think about my own experiences. Although I have dark skin, I never suffered with low self esteem issues and I accredit that to a family that has always made me feel beautiful. However, in grade school it was almost a fact that the boys liked the lighter girls with the long hair more. There were young guys in the film who reflected those views but, there were also guys who did not. The film was mostly centered on the African American community; it was evident that the color bias unfortunately stretches across the entire world. One Korean woman in particular expressed experiencing color biases and mentioned the huge issue of skin lightening creams which are very common in other countries.

Dark Girls, shed light on an issue that is commonly overlooked. After the film one of the directors said something that sticks with me even now. “Every woman has felt dark at some point in her life because every woman has dealt with low self-esteem. “ It is important for us to respect and address the different types of esteem issues that all women and even men deal with. I believe that people can be healed from deep pains and that since we all know some type of pain, women in general should be sensitive to each other. It is vital for colleges to continue to support emerging avenues that give a voice to the voiceless or quiet, for they often sit amongst us and we often can help.
Sydney Bennett is a junior from Chicago, Illinois. She is a Mass Communications major with minors in both Sociology and Art & Design. She is President of Ambassador's for Christ(AFC) and a member of their Gospel choir at Saint Xavier.