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

President Obama's ethnicity has been the giant elephant in the room within the sphere of race relations in America. Even after he attempted to point to the obvious, saying publicly that some citizens dislike him simply because he is Black, he was immediately accused of "playing the race card," and the elephant was promptly sent back to hide in the corner. Politics isn't the only medium that reveals just where America and other parts of the world stand on race. The meteoric rise of Mexican-born, Kenyan-raised actress Lupita Nyong'o can be used as another meter-stick of just how far we have come. Here are 5 things Lupita's presence on the big stage reminds us about race relations around the world: That fawning over Black excellence is rarely genuine Lupita walked nearly every red carpet during the extensive award season that wrapped up with the Oscars last month. BuzzFeed collected Lupita's every look for her fans to continue fawning over her beauty and fashion choices. Her speeches were lauded as "emotional," "moving" and "inspirational." If Lupita didn't win the Oscar for her supporting actress role in "12 years a Slave," a riot may well have erupted. But not everyone is buying the Lupita-is-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-Hollywood narrative. According to conservative pundit and author, Ann Coulter, Lupita is liberal America's latest pet project in an effort to overcome their guilt over racism. Coulter tweeted on Oscar night: "Today's Hollywood PC order: Gays, Blacks, Hispanics. Tomorrow: Gays, Hispanics, Blacks. Enjoy it while you can, Black America! #Oscars." She continued: "With '12 Yrs Slave' certain to win best pic, Longo award checks racism box, freeing Hispanic to win best director for "Gravity." #Oscars" Coulter isn't alone in her skepticism. "One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race" author Dr. Yaba Blay told theroot.com, "I'm skeptical of all the fanfare. She's a trained actress, and if it were all about her acting skills, I'd feel different. But now she's been put in this fashion-beauty-icon box. I just don't trust the mainstream, and what feels like a fetishism and exoticism in their obsession with her in this moment." That most Black people around the world lack a sophisticated race consciousness In a speech at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood luncheon last month, Lupita revealed that as a teenager she also struggled with accepting her dark-skinned complexion. "I remember a time when I too felt un-beautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned." Despite sharing that story, Lupita said in a documentary that she did not realize she was Black until entering the United States at a later age. "Having come to the United States was the first time that I really had to consider myself as being Black and to learn what my race meant. Because race is such an important part of understanding American society." Unfortunately, Lupita did not understand that she learned to devalue her dark skin while in Kenya and Mexico (where she returned at 16 to learn Spanish) before ever stepping foot on American soil because white supremacist ideologies, spread via slavery, colonialism and all forms of media, negatively impacted Black people worldwide including in her native Kenya. This lack of racial consciousness prevents Black people from understanding that race is a major factor everywhere in the world, not just in America. 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.'" That most Black people have yet to accept a race first ideology It is common for most Black people in America to refer to themselves as African-American or Black. African-American is considered the nationality, while Black is our race. But while African-Americans nearly uniformly view themselves as Black, other Black people around the world are less eager to embrace being Black. As one Ghana-born writer Zeba Blay said in a piece, "I Was Raised To Honor My African-ness And Avoid Becoming Black With A Capital B," for xojane last week, being "Black" is an American definition with a negative association. She shared her aunt's response to Lupita's speech at the Oscars: “The girl is so articulate! Thank God she is one of us. You know, not one of them.” The author continued: "I instantly recognized the distinction that my aunt was making. By 'one of us,' she meant African. She meant that Lupita wasn’t like those other Black people, African-Americans." She added, "I hear some of my older relatives refer to African Americans, criticizing them and calling them 'Blacks,' as if they are not Black themselves, labeling them as lazy." Blogger and author Demetria Lucas experienced some backlash when she attempted to refer to Lupita simply as Black. She explained in a piece on root.com: "I like the actress so much, I started referring to her as 'Our Lady Lupita.' And I said so in that Instagram caption, which read, 'Black Girl Magic! Get you some. Congrats to Our Lady @lupitanyongo on her Oscar win!' Innocent enough, right? "Promptly, a follower responded, 'Actually, she’s Mexican.' It was said as if Nyong’o couldn’t be Black and Mexican at the same time." Marcus Garvey, the founder of the UNIA, the largest Black movement to date, argued that although we were oppressed on the basis of race, we could use race as an instrument of strength. Race must become the political entity under which we organize. Alek Wek That the importance of equal representation in media channels is still vital for Black women around the world Numerous articles have been written about Lupita's positive impact on colorism and why she's important to dark-skinned girls and Black women in general. Lupita herself referenced the positive impact of seeing a reflection of herself in the media, when she recalled the fanfare around South Sudanese-born model Alek Wek. When the opposite was true, and she only saw pale-skin people on her television screen in Kenya, Lupita said she prayed to God for lighter skin. She said, "My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful but that was no , she’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful. And then … Alek Wek. A celebrated model, she was dark as night. She was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. "My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me, when I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty."

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