5 Things Lupita Nyong’o Revealed About Race Relations Around the World

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That colorism is a deep-seated issue that continues to impact Black women across the world

Last September, Oprah Winfrey aired the heart-wrenching documentary “Dark Girls” that highlighted the painful stories from dark-skinned women affected by colorism. During a special with Iyanla Vanzant to discuss the documentary, Oprah also spoke to Black women of lighter hue who expressed that they too suffer on the other side of the spectrum. While prejudice exists on both ends, in Hollywood dark-skinned women are often overlooked.

When Lupita stepped forward to receive her Best Breakthrough Performance award at the Essence luncheon, the actress shared part of a letter she received from a fellow dark-skinned woman who was one step away from purchasing a popular skin-bleaching cream.

“I want to take this opportunity to talk about beauty, Black beauty, dark beauty. I received a letter from a girl and I’d like to share just a small part of it with you: ‘Dear Lupita,’ it reads, ‘I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.'”

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