I don’t blame you for being resentful. Colorism is shitty. I’ve benefited from it myself, being mixed-race (white father, black mother), medium-tan in skin tone, and having naturally curly rather than “kinky” hair. (Though since my gender transition I’ve been losing my hair,and cutting it so short that the texture is now basically irrelevant.) I realize that hair texture is not quite the same as skin color because the former can be changed much more easily than the latter, but it’s all a part of favoring whiteness.

I normally don’t care about British royalty, but I did start paying attention when I heard about Markle’s racial background. What a statement (however unsurprising) on society in 2017 that a person’s skin color would determine whether or not they are allowed to marry into the royal family.

Not that we’re any less racist in the U.S., of course, Obama’s election notwithstanding. Getting back to the hair thing, I sometimes wonder if he would have been elected had Michelle, Malia, and Sasha worn their hair natural rather than straightened. Imagine if they looked like the wife and children of New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio. Personally, I don’t miss hot combs or relaxers, and all black folks should be able to wear braids, locs, or ‘fros if they so choose, without risking their jobs or social status.