Coloring It Very Controversial

It’s not as if the black race doesn’t have enough to contend with in dealing with unemployment, increasing youth crime, discrimination in housing, and unequal education and employment opportunities. Now comes the issue of color/shade preference among the black race as put forth in “Colorism” (by Itabari Njeri, April 24).

The American black race has more varieties of skin color than any other race on Earth, from polished ebony to creamy ivory--just as the white race has a variety of hair colors from platinum blond to jet black. So what is the big deal if anyone has a skin color preference just as one would have a hair color preference? Isn’t everything relative? However, prejudice against dark skin color is as wrong as assuming that all blonds are dumb.

There is no need for an “identity crisis” in the black race. With the wide spectrum of colors in the black race, it would be far more realistic for black Americans to be identified more inclusively as the “colored” race as we were before “black is beautiful.”

Black is still beautiful, but so are all the other colors in our race.

LETITIA MILLER

Culver City