Don't Play in the Sun : One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex

Rating:
Summary: One Woman's Fragile Perceptions
Review: 11/14/04 From the 1st chapter in which the author mentions her mother's admonition (which is the books title) to the depths of the book in which she mentions her three major hetrosexual relationships(incl of an affair with a Caucasian(Belgian), a marriage to a Nigerian and a marriage to an African American),her "focus" cannot be overlooked. From her globe trotting as to how various pigmentations(via Race or skin complexions) react to one another personally and/or politcally) ,there is no doubt that her childhood is true to the statment "childhood does leave a lasting impression).The most surprizing disclosure wasre bleaching cosmetics in "Yinka's Story" on (Pgs 148-159)(Yinka was a younger cousing of her Nigerian husband)and the excessive & unsafe use of "bleach creams" by many young Nigerian Girls. While most thought the use of cosmetic creams was to have even tone and if possible flawless skin, author Marita Golden attributes the use of cosmetics for many has nothing to do with healthy skin, since many of the "bleach creams"(e.g. hydroquinone,breaks down the melanin) and thus produces unhealthy skin.

Rating:
Summary: I am the Darker Sister
Review: Don't Play in the Sun is Marita Golden's account of the complexities of the color issue within the black community as she has lived it as a darker-hued African American. Intra-racial prejudice and color consciousness has been a major part of her life since she was a child. When she was ten years old, Golden's mother told her she needed to avoid playing in the sun because she was dark enough; as it was she needed to marry a light-skinned man for the sake of her children. This one remark set off a lifetime of hurt and introspection where color issues were a constant presence.

Golden's views were "colored" by and large by the geographical area in which she was born and raised, Washington D.C. This area is the seat of the black middle and upper classes, many who are descendants of mixed-race people who can trace their roots back to the Founding Fathers of the nation. They are known to have their set of cliques and alliances that in numerous circles have historically excluded darker blacks, keeping their inner circle light, bright and damn near white through careful manipulation of family ties. At a young age, Golden expected the curly-haired, light brown-skinned boys to reject her dark, short-haired self and that she could not infiltrate the popular crowd of lighter complexioned kids in high school. She deliberately did not apply to Howard University because she felt that although it was a black college, the lighter skinned students were more readily accepted. Ironically, it was at predominately white American University, that she came into her own, as a member of the Black Student Union and under the banner of the new proclamation of "I'm Black and I'm Proud." Golden relished in her dark skin and embraced an Afrocentric look. She eventually married a Nigerian, who reminded her of her very dark-skinned, estranged father and lived for many years in her husband's country. After a divorce from her husband and return to the States, over the years she again became embroiled in the color complex issues that had plagued her young life. Thrown back into the dating scene, it became apparent to her that most black men wanted trophy wives---translated meaning lighter-skinned women.

This reviewer grew weary of Golden's constant harping on her color issues, wanting her to step away and analyze why after over forty years she is apparently holding on to her mother's mandate. Although she claims to have conquered her demons, acknowledging that light-skinned blacks are also victims, I was not convinced by this discourse. Almost every daily contact, almost every encounter, almost every snub, real or imagined is analyzed and attributed to her color. Why this accomplished woman, a highly regarded author of several books, an esteemed professor, and founder of the Hurston/Wright Writers Foundation continues to be defined by the color of her skin is astounding to me. Her recount of how an older male black author judged her by her Afrocentric look is perhaps debatable, as is a remark made by her current husband's student who expressed surprise when meeting her, but her blatant dissatisfaction about a character from a classic novel borders, to my mind, on overkill. Golden continually wonders why the character, Janie from Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God is light-skinned even as she answers her own question.

On one hand Golden's mother had issues with color but her father came from a proud, dark-skinned family who seemed to be comfortable in their skin and their place in the world. It is unfortunate she did not inherit that legacy. I realize this is a memoir and therefore, this is her story, through her eyes but this book, for me, was one continuous whine, decrying "woe is me, poor little dark-skinned girl" and could be deemed offensive to dark-skinned women who have learned to or always have loved themselves. However, I am well aware that this pervasive topic is the elephant in the middle of the room that we as a race are reluctant to confront and it is indeed a serious issue. For an unbiased, well documented reference on the subject of color consciousness and intra-racial prejudice in the black community, I recommend The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans by Kathy Russell written almost ten years ago.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: Superficial
Review: Golden, while an accomplished novelist, sheds little light on the subject of colorism. A more thorough analysis and less personal account of "the color complex" can be found in the original book of that title.

Rating:
Summary: Thing of Beauty
Review: Marita Golden, as always, continues to write in an elegant, understated fashion...and this time brings to the fore what I and many African women consider to be the #1 problem facing our people today...the much denied hatred for dark skinned people, and in particular--FEMALES--who are "authentically" black.

I didn't, however, give the book five stars for tackling such an important subject. I gave it 5 stars for the author's subtle handling of YEARS of heartbreak, disappointment and "forced coping". I gave the book five stars, because Golden so carefully layers and allows her own personal beauty to spotlight the fact that color prejudice is both insidious and cancerous. Amazingly, Golden does this without rage and reciprical hate.

By hating the darkest of black women...we are essentially proving that we ourselves are White Supremacists who hate the womb of our beginning and ALL BLACK PEOPLE. What could be more important for black people in 2004 to wrap their minds around?

I myself come from Sudan and was put up for adoption at age 8 by my Egyptian grandmother...because she felt that my skin color was "too dark" for me to be included in my father's Egyptian family after he and my mother were murdered for protesting slavery in SUDAN.

I am the child of a "charcoal colored" African beauty and an Arab father.

Naturally, the trauma of such a rejection and such an event cannot be conveyed with mere words, but as a mother of 2 young boys who will someday be grown black men...I am grateful to Marita Golden for providing yet another powerful and important art work (to go along with Morrison's BLUEST EYE and my own LONG TRAIN TO THE REDEEMING SIN) that can aid us all in the dismantling of this troubling and horrific insanity through which white supremacy continues to hack away the limbs of our sacred being.

Black is not only Beautiful--Black is the genesis of humanity and deserves to exist. And Marita Golden continues to be a lush, velvety voice in the static, sometimes frivalous NEW world of black literature. I highly recommend this book, and as always...I so deeply love Golden's care, class and intelligence.

Kola Boof, Author of "Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories About African Women".

Rating:
Summary: Thing of Beauty!
Review: Marita Golden, as always, writes in an elegant, understated fashion...and this time brings to the fore what I and many African women consider to be the #1 problem facing our people today...the much denied hatred for dark skinned people, and in particular--FEMALES--who are "authentically" black.

I didn't, however, give the book five stars for tackling such an important subject. I gave it 5 stars for the author's subtle handling of YEARS of heartbreak, disappointment and "forced coping". I gave the book five stars, because Golden so carefully layers and allows her own personal beauty to spotlight the fact that color prejudice is both insidious and cancerous. Amazingly, Golden does this without rage or reciprocal hate.

By hating the darkest of black women...we are essentially proving that we ourselves have become White Supremacists who hate the womb of our beginning and ALL BLACK PEOPLE. What could be more important for black people in 2004 to wrap their minds around?

I myself come from Sudan and was put up for adoption at age 8 by my Egyptian grandmother...because she felt that my skin color was "too dark" for me to be included in my father's Egyptian family after he and my mother were murdered for protesting slavery in SUDAN.

I am the child of a "charcoal colored" African beauty and an Arab father.

Naturally, the trauma of such a rejection and such an event cannot be conveyed with mere words, but as a mother of 2 young boys who will someday be grown black men...I am grateful to Marita Golden for providing yet another powerful and important art work (to go along with Morrison's BLUEST EYE and my own LONG TRAIN TO THE REDEEMING SIN) that can aid us all in the dismantling of this troubling and horrific insanity through which white supremacy continues to hack away the limbs of our sacred being.

Black is not only Beautiful--Black is the genesis of humanity and deserves to exist. And Marita Golden continues to be a lush, velvety voice in the static, sometimes frivalous NEW world of black literature. I highly recommend this book, and as always...I so deeply love Golden's care, class and intelligence.

Kola Boof (...)





Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and Didactic
Review: The color complex has been a problem with African-Americans since the days of slavery, where the some of the lighter sons and daughters of slave owners were given preferential treatment over darker ones. In Marita Golden's (Migrations of the Heart) new memoir, "Don't Play in the Sun," she examines the intricacies of what it means to have grown up a dark-skinned African-American woman where women of lighter complexion were favored.

The book commences with snippets of Golden's experiences dealing with color including the recollection of mother's stark warnings not to play in the sun or else she will have to get a light-skinned husband for the sake of her children. The statement causes the young Golden to question her beauty and self-worth based on skin tone and hair texture throughout her entire life. Witnessing intra-racial preference influences her decision not to American University instead of Howard because of the favoritism shown towards lighter-skinned Blacks at the all-Black school and influences how she views the portrayal of dark-skinned women on television. The author also reminds the reader that light-skinned women are subjected to discrimination as well, particularly objectification and sexism.

Golden recalls her world travels in Nigeria where many women surprisingly use skin-lightening creams to attract men, Cuba, where darker-skinned denizens hold menial jobs as maids, doormen, and even prostitutes while their lighter-skinned neighbors hold more visible, success-oriented positions, and Belgium, where her romance with a European man was, for the most part, socially accepted.

The book not only serves as an intriguing memoir but also a critique on popular culture, social norms, and political practices throughout the world. Golden offers her opinion on the popular Hip-Hop videos, the Grammy awards, the works of Zora Neale Hurston, and much more. People of all colors and gender should be able to find something enlightening and didactic about "Don't Play in the Sun." Golden has penned a wonderful, succinct, page-turner that examines the complex relationship between lighter skinned and darker skinned people. One can only hope that the reader will take Golden's life lessons to heart and grow from them.


Rating:
Summary: Yes, still an issue
Review: This book served to provide and interesting look at one woman's view of color perception from childhood to current. It was very insightful in showing how simple words implanted in us as children can drive and have an effect on even the most minute situations in our lives. It seemed that because of words and views planted by her mother, even the most innocent of situations was turned into a color issue, whether one may have seen that as justified or not. It was her reality. While as a brown skinned black female, I may not have experienced the same thing or thought the same way, nor can I say that I grew up the same, so I cannot negate her feelings or experiences. So although I did not feel that I could personally relate, this book provided insight on how color issues can affect others.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful message from a beautiful black woman
Review: This is the book Marita Golden thought she would never have to write. As a young political activist she thought the old colorist barriers had been broken down for good. But now she says "we are standing still on nearly the same spot where we once were rooted." As a warm, outgoing, strong, educated and articulate black Black woman, she is the perfect spokesperson to address some thorny issues. Her particular concern is the message that the media are sending to young blacks that "a Black girl is considered neither alluring nor pretty unless she is light and long-haired."

Marita Golden is a successful novelist and professor of writing, who has talked about the color issue with people in America, Cuba and Nigeria, where she once lived. She has talked to teenaged girls and boys, mothers and fathers, therapists and hairdressers, screenwriters and television producers. Some of the people Marita Golden interviewed would only talk if their names weren't mentioned. Others, like cultural historian Anthony Browder, say frankly that "BET has set us back a decade. There simply are not enough messages in the rest of the culture to counter the self-hating propaganda that most of the videos present." Well, here's one such message and it's loud and clear. Thank you, Ms Golden

Rating:
Summary: Look In The Mirror - You Are Beautiful - No Matter What
Review: We often read of "garbage messages" that are universal to all children, or, as John Bradshaw labels as "shame-based messages."

And in this book, by Marita Golden, we read how those of color pass on messages to their children, that from a child's view is an attack. From an adult view, it is both a warning of how one is measured by those in power, and it is something that is blindly passed on - not questioned, just accepted as fact, much like the unspoken messages that generation after generation mothers pass on to their daughters about their limitations.

I selected this book because I read, years ago, "Migration of the Heart," and "Skin Deep," by Ms. Golden. And I continue to be moved by her written messages. She speaks to your soul!

As a child, I do remember conflicting messages of, "Go outside and play," shortly followed by, "If you stay in the sun too long you will be too black."

"Too black" in the 60's, during the Civil Rights Movement - at times when we were saying, "Say it loud. I'm black and I'm proud?"

Yes. It was a statement unconsciously spoken. And it continues to be spoken, whites worry about the dangers of tanning salons, and blacks search for ways to "blend in."

Another reason why I was drawn to this book is that Ms. Golden uses Zora Neale Hurston's (read "Their Eyes Were Watching God," and her other books) messages from the first page, throught the book, to encourage change.

Thank you Ms. Golden, for telling your story, and for believing in your purpose, and for contributing to race relations being an inside job.

Rating:
Summary: Does colorism still exist?
Review: When a mother shouts, "Don't play in the sun," it can be very innocent. The child might get sunburned, too hot, or dehydrated. If a Black mother shouts that phrase, it can mean something sinister. It can mean, "The sun will make you darker" or, "You're already black enough!" It is the legacy that has been handed down to us from the days our ancestors labored under the harsh conditions of slavery. Our darker sisters with African features frequently find themselves at the end of the line of life. They are discriminated against in many ways, from not being selected as beauty queens to being passed over for jobs and promotions. The airwaves and videos are blanketed with images of the lighter, more European looking women. Darker women are still depicted as mammy, Sapphire, the maid or as very angry.

Marita Golden has researched the subject and talked to many people in different countries about this color complex that Black people have. She found that whether it's Cuba, Nigeria or the United States, wherever there are black people, they have learned that beauty is defined by the whiteness of skin and features. In Africa and the Caribbean, she found darker women using the bleaching products that were popular at one time in the United States, and no matter where she went, she found that the darker population was always the poorest population.

In total fairness, Ms. Golden also talked with her sisters who were lighter in hue and found that they, also, had color issues. While they might be the symbol of European beauty and were pursued by men, they were frequently pursued for all the wrong reasons. They became trophies rather than love objects. She also talked with brunette white women and found that they too are punished for not being blond goddesses.

Ms. Golden does more than just skim the surface of this issue. She digs deep to find not only the whys, but what the solutions are. She uses the stunning accomplishments and looks of the tennis stars, the Williams' sisters, to point out that Black can indeed be beautiful. She even discusses why Serena may have gotten that blond weave. She doesn't punish anyone for their choices; rather she seeks to understand those choices in light of the fanatical and frantic push toward European beauty standards that have been foisted on all of us. It is an excellent book and should be read by dark, dark women, light, bright women and yes, even white women. None of us are exempt from this crazy color complex.

Reviewed by alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers