LBUSD roundtable talks about the impact of colorism on Black girls and women

By CHRISTINA MERINO | March 31, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. | UPDATED: March 31, 2023 | THE PRESS TELEGRAM

LBUSD Black Student Achievement Initiative, Sankofa Parent Village, in collaboration with the Kheris Rogers Foundation hosted a Women’s History Month roundtable event to talk about the impact of colorism on Black girls and women. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Kheris Rogers was only 10 years old when she found herself getting bullied in school — because of the color of her skin.

But with the help of her older sister, Taylor, Rogers said, she was able to embrace who she is and became determined to encourage other young Black girls to do the same.

Rogers, now 16, has her own apparel brand called “Flexin’ In My Complexion,” has written a children’s book and started a nonprofit foundation, all of which champion self-love, self-worth and greater representation for traditionally marginalized communities, especially Black girls and women.

And recently, her Kheris Rogers Foundation joined with the Long Beach Unified School District’s Black Student Achievement Initiative and Sankofa Parent Village — an organization that provides care and support for parents and caregivers of LBUSD’s Black students– to host a Women’s History Month roundtable. The event, at Jordan High, was intended to spark a conversation in the community about the impact of colorism on Black girls and women and what can be done to support one another instead.

Colorism is prejudice against people with dark skin, often among those of the same race or ethnicity.

Rogers was one of six panelists, alongside Cabrillo High junior Kara Coulter, Poly High senior President Morgan-Barnes, Jordan High counselor Rachel Hamlet, and Long Beach community members Krista Bowman and Tramisha Poindexter.

The moderator was Melissa Morgan, a Sankofa Parent Village mother and President Morgan-Barnes’s Mom. She helped guide the conversation and offered attendees the chance to participate in the discussion.

More than 85 attendees listened to the panelists share stories and answer questions about how colorism impacts them personally as Black girls and women.

“I feel like growing up, experiencing colorism myself, people try to make it seem like bullying and colorism are the same things when it’s not,” Rogers said during last week’s roundtable “It’s the difference between a lighter-skinned girl talking about me because I’m darker than her, then me going up to her to say something about her clothes.”

Some of the other topics included discussions about melanin, identity, how the impact of slavery still is relevant in today’s society, and defining colorism, stereotypes and prejudice based on a person’s skin tone.

“When we talk about melanin, we don’t really talk a lot about its biological effects,” Morgan said, “because instead, in this country, in particular, we’re socialized to talk about race and color through a social lens and spectrum, really based on our history of racism and prejudice.”

LBUSD Black Student Achievement Initiative, Sankofa Parent Village, in collaboration with the Kheris Rogers Foundation hosted a Women’s History Month roundtable event to talk about the impact of colorism on Black girls and women. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

One of the questions that Morgan asked the panel was, “What do you love most about having melanated skin?”

The panelist went one by one, sharing stories and reasons why they loved the color of their skin and what they believe made them feel empowered and special as a young Black girl or woman.

Another topic Morgan brought up in the discussion was how historical contexts, such as slavery, still impact society today.

The panelists also discussed what responsibility they, as Black women and as a community, have to care for one another. The responses from the panelists and the audience included learning to lift each other up and being able to give and receive compliments.

“The conversation was powerful, honest, transparent, and much-needed in our community,” said Elyssa Taylor-Stewart, an administrator at the district’s Office of Equity, Engagement and Partnership, and a leader for the BSAI committee. “I’m just super grateful and super honored to be able to have something like this, and grateful to the district for the support in what we’re doing.”

After the panel discussion, there was a fashion show featuring girls from the Runway 4 Peace model agency, who strutted down the aisles wearing Rogers’s new collection for “Flexin’ In My Complexion.”

“I was really very impressed that we were having this conversation,” said Audrena Redmond, the founder of Long Beach’s Black Lives Matter chapter, who attended the event. “It’s an important conversation to have because colorism exists among all people.”

“It is a limiting thing,” Redmond said. “It contributes to students not having a positive experience at school; sometimes it affects esteem, it affects a lot.”

(L-R) Panelists Rachel Hamlet, Krista Bowman, Tramisha Poindexter, Kheris Rogers, Kara Coulter, President Morgan and moderator Melissa Morgan at the Women’s History Month roundtable event. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

LBUSD parents and student alike said the event was a great learning experience.

“I didn’t truly realize until today how colorism and racism affect our young children,” said Monica Cole-Jackson, a parent of the Sankofa Parent Village.

When Cole-Jackson’s daughter, Breanna, first started kindergarten, she had to explain to her what racism is, the mother said.

“This program says a lot about Long Beach Unified and how they’ve recognized it,” she said. “I appreciate that this event that’s been allowed. I don’t know if 12 years ago, it would have been allowed.”

Breanna is now a senior at Poly High. She attended the Saturday, March 25, event to support her friend, President Morgan-Barnes.

“It was a really inspiring event, a really safe space to talk about everything,” the Poly High senior said. “In other cases, when I talk about these issues, I don’t feel like people really receive it. But here, it was nice to be in a conversation wanting to talk about how we can solve some of these issues, (these) systematic problems in our society.

“I think it’s just nice,” she added, “to be in a community that’s going to hear my voice.”

Original source: https://www.presstelegram.com/2023/03/31/lbusd-roundtable-talks-about-the-impact-of-colorism-on-black-girls-and-women/