Hey Tyra!!! Well, I myself am very dark. I have that darkness like you will find alot of African's with. I have been approached by quite a few African men, that always ask me if I'm from the mother land. I'm from New Jersey, but I am mistaken for African at times. I am only 22 years old, but when I was younger, elementary school years I would have to say were the hardest years to have lived through. I was teased and talked about on the daily basis. I was mainly teased because I was so dark and i'm also pretty tall and I have always been the tallest in my class all the way up until high school. I'm 5'11, maybe even 6'0. But the teasing of my skin complexion slowed down once I got in high school. It took until I got into high school to accept my complexion and learn to love it. I came home many days during my grade school years crying to my mother because it was literally an everyday thing. I was often compared to a black board. I was also called "blackie". I would also get called 11:59pm (referring to me being as dark as midnight). I wasn't as fortunate as most kids. I wore a lot of worn and torn clothes and that also played a big role in my being teased. It got to the point that I got so tired of it, that I even bought some skin whitening cream in hopes that my complexion would get lighter than what it is. Of course, my mind was playing games on me when I thought it was actually working when of course it wasn't. I remember praying many times for God to end my life so that I wouldn't have to go to school the next day. But if you ask me now..... I absolutely LOVE my complexion and I wouldn't trade it for anything. In fact I am always addressed as "sexy chocolate", "hot chocolate" and even "hershey bar" and I think it is flattering. I am actually considering getting one of those tattooed on me. I think it is so beautiful to be dark. It makes me a very happy woman to know that I stand out when I walk down the street and that I am remembered as "the tall and dark sista". But as I got older, I see my complexion more on other people now then when I did back in school. I think black is beautiful. Do I think that whites/lighter skinned blacks get the advantage over us darker skinned women......yes. When people here white, they think clean and pure. But when it comes to black it means dirt, pity and sorrow which isn't fair, but it's life. I don't take it personal. The way I see it is that you can be as white as snow, but all it takes is for that person to get burned by fire, and they are as black as me :) I get approached by a lot of lighter skinned males, but I have no preference, as long as they are tall, lol :) To me, color means nothing. I love all my sistas and that does include my caucasian sisters as well. God made us the way he did for a reason. To me, our complexions are what makes us individuals and different from the next person. I am the oldest child of 4 and I am the only dark skinned child. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother and they are all about your complexion Tyra. We all have the same mother, but I have a different dad then they do. And no, I don't know who he is. So I say, love yourself and always remember, there will always be someone in this world that doesn't like you for just cause, however there is always someone who loves the mess out of you. But anyway I just wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on this issue. Thanks Tyra!!!! I love your show girl. Keep it up. Love ya

Hey Tyra, Im Alyssa i Watched your show yesterday. also my friend paige. we were so suprised at that women. and one more thing i am a full white person. i hate that people do this to everyone.. i mean come on who cares what color you are. we are all human. i dont know why light skinned people think dark people are bad or something. i think everyone has there own personality and it doesnt matter what color you are. that women yesterday who thinks dark black women are mean or bad or ugly or whatever she shouldnt be talking cause her son is darker than her and also she is black so she is basically putting down her own race. i dont get people these days anymore...yeah sure im only 14 but i am so sick of people thinking dark people are bad when they arent. i have plenty of dark friends and there awesome and even light skinned people are awesome. i just want to go on tv one day and talk to everyone about this. because all i know. COLOR DOESNT MATTER!!! because we are all the same. yeah we might have different color skin and different blood types and stuff. but we are still all human beings. it bugs the crap out of me to watch that. she got me so mad yesterday....and come on now whats wrong with her son going out with either color? there is nothin wrong going out with dark black women. we are all equals. and the last thing that i am going to say is that Thank You for doing that whole show thing yesterday. i hope people learned alot from it. and not care about eachothers color. cause we are all human and all one :]

Hey Tyra! I just watched yesterday's show on my dvr. I am a white woman who happens to be gay and I find myself attracted more to black women than white women. Black women of all skin shades!!!!!!! Don't get me wrong I am attracted to women of all races but I just am more attraced to black women than any other.

Hey Tyra, Im Alyssa i Watched your show yesterday. also my friend paige. we were so suprised at that women. and one more thing i am a full white person. i hate that people do this to everyone.. i mean come on who cares what color you are. we are all human. i dont know why light skinned people think dark people are bad or something. i think everyone has there own personality and it doesnt matter what color you are. that women yesterday who thinks dark black women are mean or bad or ugly or whatever she shouldnt be talking cause her son is darker than her and also she is black so she is basically putting down her own race. i dont get people these days anymore...yeah sure im only 14 but i am so sick of people thinking dark people are bad when they arent. i have plenty of dark friends and there awesome and even light skinned people are awesome. i just want to go on tv one day and talk to everyone about this. because all i know. COLOR DOESNT MATTER!!! because we are all the same. yeah we might have different color skin and different blood types and stuff. but we are still all human beings. it bugs the crap out of me to watch that. she got me so mad yesterday....and come on now whats wrong with her son going out with either color? there is nothin wrong going out with dark black women. we are all equals. and the last thing that i am going to say is that Thank You for doing that whole show thing yesterday. i hope people learned alot from it. and not care about eachothers color. cause we are all human and all one :]

Hi Tyra, I saw your show yesterday about how light-skinned women are treated different from darker skinned women. I am a black american female with a medium brown complexion. I'v noticed that light skinned people are treadted better then darker skinned people. I also find that this is only in the black race. I know all other races have the same problem but i focus more so on my own race. I'v noticed than black people favor lighter skinned people over darker skinned. Some black people are very predudice because their ignorant. Ive also noticed that in the eyes of other race and how they look at black people, white people, dont look at lighter skinned black people ad prefer them over darker skinned people. If you've noticed whenever you see a black man in a relationship with a white woman, or a black woman in a relationship with a white man, it's normally a darker skinned black man or woman. When it comes to romance or even friendship with black people, white people dont usaully prefer light brown over dark brown or vise versa. To a lot of them black is black.
This proves how ignorant a lot of black people and how much we as a people are divided. I must admit Tyra, I'm not dark but im not light, im right in the middle and sometimes i feel more comfortable around people who aren't black. It seems like I get judged by black people more then anyone else. It's not all about skin color. If your black and you hang out with a group of black girls no matter what skin tone you are if you speak proper, listen to music by white musicians, and your wardrabe dosnt consisit black designers your not BLACK ENOUGH for them. And thats how dark and light skinned girls feel. I'm in between and I've been treated unfaily by both light and dark skinned black girls because I dont act black enough for them.
When I hang out with my white friends or hispanic friends they treat me like they understand me a little more. There open minded and dont call me white girl like SSOOOO many black girls of All skin tones have. There is a problem in the black community and sorry to say it but, it's never going to change. This show proved how ignorant a lot of black people are and just like that ignorant women on the show who hates dark skinned people, they raise their kids to have the same mentality. Its very sad.

Hi Tyra, I saw your show yesterday about how light-skinned women are treated different from darker skinned women. I am a black american female with a medium brown complexion. I'v noticed that light skinned people are treadted better then darker skinned people. I also find that this is only in the black race. I know all other races have the same problem but i focus more so on my own race. I'v noticed than black people favor lighter skinned people over darker skinned. Some black people are very predudice because their ignorant. Ive also noticed that in the eyes of other race and how they look at black people, white people, dont look at lighter skinned black people ad prefer them over darker skinned people. If you've noticed whenever you see a black man in a relationship with a white woman, or a black woman in a relationship with a white man, it's normally a darker skinned black man or woman. When it comes to romance or even friendship with black people, white people dont usaully prefer light brown over dark brown or vise versa. To a lot of them black is black.
This proves how ignorant a lot of black people and how much we as a people are divided. I must admit Tyra, I'm not dark but im not light, im right in the middle and sometimes i feel more comfortable around people who aren't black. It seems like I get judged by black people more then anyone else. It's not all about skin color. If your black and you hang out with a group of black girls no matter what skin tone you are if you speak proper, listen to music by white musicians, and your wardrabe dosnt consisit black designers your not BLACK ENOUGH for them. And thats how dark and light skinned girls feel. I'm in between and I've been treated unfaily by both light and dark skinned black girls because I dont act black enough for them.
When I hang out with my white friends or hispanic friends they treat me like they understand me a little more. There open minded and dont call me white girl like SSOOOO many black girls of All skin tones have. There is a problem in the black community and sorry to say it but, it's never going to change. This show proved how ignorant a lot of black people are and just like that ignorant women on the show who hates dark skinned people, they raise their kids to have the same mentality. Its very sad.

Dear Tyra,

I watched your show yesterday on "is light skin better than dark skin" and I had a lot of opinions. I am a light skinned woman. I not a red bone but I am a light skinned woman and I have very curly hair. As I watched the show last night on my DVR I was a little upset with the way the audience reacted towards light skinned people. It seemed that they favored the dark skinned woman. Being a light woman with curly hair. I am often asked if I'm mixed. Not by white people but by other African Americans. When I say that I am black 100%. I get ridiculed. They say, "I’m lying" "Black people don't have hair like that"."Its no way look at your skin completion".."You looked mixed!" and that's annoying. I always wore my hair long so people would say that I think I'm better or I’m stuck up! Im really not! I think that when people say things like that it's because they have issues. It’s hard trying to fit in because I talk proper and I’m light skinned so that means that I’m trying to be white. I always say what the hell is "trying to be white". It hurts me to think that so many black people think that we can't have good hair or good jobs that pay good money or can be educated. If you choose to not live in the hood then people think your trying to be sadidy! On the show if you notice when the dark skinned girls spoke they didn’t get a bad reaction! When the dark skinned guy said that he like dark skinned woman it was okay but when the light skinned guy said that he liked light skinned women he was immediately booed. So the guy who likes the dark skinned girls was okay because he like dark skinned woman? But the guy, who had a preference just like the other guy, that liked light skinned woman, was wrong! I guess as a light skinned woman I look at it differently. I see that a lot of people don’t like us because we are light skinned. Light skinned women didn’t boo when the Dark skinned guy explain that he liked dark skinned woman!... So it just goes to show that it's a equal playing field!... light skinned women we go through tuff times just as well as dark skinned. We get teased just as much! And honestly when I’m out with my girlfriends who are all darker than me. They're the ones that get the attention, not me! We all have issues with ourselves. Bottom line, we are all black, African Americans that need to learn to stick together. We all suffered!!! We might not discriminate but we all have preferences in everything we do!!! There are much bigger issues in the world that matter more then our skin completion. Like the 3 police officers getting acquitted of all the charges in the Sean Bale case. He was a light skinned brother that was murder by who we call New York’s Finest. It’s makes me ask myself Do We Even Matter? Have We Ever Matter? When a man with no weapons is killed and no one is charged for his murder. When there were 50 – 60 eyewitnesses that testified and every single guy was found innocent! This is the country we live in and we are suppose to be Proud Americans?” Where is the justice? Then there is the questions of why we do not obey the police, why we don’t respected them and follow their rules and the laws of this country that we call home. I thought Home was a place where we are suppose to feel safe and free. I don’t feel either! I’m scared for my life and the life of my brothers. They can’t even go out and have a night of fun without being shot by the POLICE! Why is there so much crime in our inner cities? Why are so many of our people in Prison, poor, on the streets and not educated. Because there is no JUSTICE! My question is why should we respect them, obey them and follow the laws of the land when they’re just going to kill us anyway! Right! Because obliviously our lives mean no more than a roach crawling on the ground in Time Square during the rush hour traffic!…So instead of fighting over who’s better because of their complexion. We need to stop being a lazy and spoiled generation and pick up where our forefathers like: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and all the other civil rights leaders, left off and continue to fight for our equality and our Justice! The battle for justice isn’t over as we can see. It’s looks to me that it's getting worst and if we don’t make a change it’s going to be FATAL!

tyra i glad that u did a show like this never seen it on any other talk show , i wanted to write opharh for a while to have her do a show like this, but figure she to white for this kind of stuff, so thank for during this show, it show the diff between black in black race. i alway get that u r cute to be dark skin my answer will be so if i was light skin i be ulgy. thank this my first time writing a show

Hi TYRA,
i love your show i always watch every night here in the philippines ...
i just want to comments about that issue black & white skin complexion actually that is not really issue the important you accept yourself the way who you are "?and have a self confidence just be yourself.. it dosent matter what the color of your skin , the important you got a good heart" you dont need to look outside ,just feel inside" for me "Black is beautiful" im a asian woman so my skin is lighter but i really like there complextion specially you tyra cuz most of asian woman wants to be a tan color to there skin they go to the beaches " sun bathing'" thats why all of you is very lucky '' actually im inlove with the black men i love him so much he is a u.s army i love him the way he is "so im proud with him". i dont care if he is black men, the important i love him so much & he loves too.. he takecare of me all the time and now were getting married ..
thanks tyra more power to you...
god bless you...

p.s tyra can we ask a question who is your boyfriend now ? who is that lucky man ?
thank you

Tyra I am so happy you brought this topic up on your show yesterday. I am a Black female of mixed heritage, my mother is WestIndian and my dad is half WestIndian and half Hispanic so I turned out to be lightskinned. I am a fraternal twin and my sister happens to be a way darker complexion than I am. Luckily for the both of us we have never had to deal with skin preference in the immediate family because our dad is darkskinned and our mom is lightskinned (best of both worlds). However, There has always been smart remarks towards me outside the home. Other darkskinned females would try to put me down or say I'm "acting like I'm superior to everyone else" which is not true, it is just an assumption. I feel that it is not only society's fault for pushing us to beleive that lighter is better, but is also the darkskinned people's fault for being so insecure to the point that they would automatically assume that us lightskinned people think we are better. Why would you think that about someone you don't even know? Just like you don't like being called "ugly and black" we don't like our own darker sisters calling us "stuck up and conceited". I guess it all comes down to perception. I love my darkskinned twin sister to death, color will never EVER be an issue. My boyfriend even happens to be very dark and I love it, because I love him for who he is and not his skin tone.

Dear Tyra,
I just wanted to take the time to thank you for shedding the light on the issue of "Colorism". I am a black woman of dark complexion, and I face this struggle almost every day. My biggest problem with this is that hurtful words, such as “your pretty, FOR a dark skin girl" can come out the mouths of those who are black like me. And if that was not enough, it is almost like I have another strike against me because I am a dark skin “Haitian". In high school I was often questioned if I was mixed with some type of Spanish, because my hair was way too long to be black or Haitian. Or because my skin was way to smooth. If it was not for the love of myself and the love that was given to me by my parents, then I think that these words and actions would have scared me for life.
I hope that you will continue to talk about this issue.

The way I see it. All this haten on dark skin-light skin people has only to do with all the white colonialism that is planted all over the world. All four corners of the planet. It doesn't matter whether you people see this or not, but it is. The White people who migrated all over the world is the reason why all this hate against people of color. It seem like every body that's black, brown, yellow,or whatever wants to be white. And why? because white people put ONLY their image on tv, magazines, movies you name it-represented as beautiful. And thier not. If Amerikkka was so equal, then why can't we see beautiful images of black, brown, yellow,etc in the media? Everything is all whitewashed. and they gonna keep it that way. If white media would just keep every thing equal in this so called great country. Then I don't think it would be any need to hate/dislike someone for the color of their skin.

Dear: Tyra
WOW WOW WOW I am so glad that you have the courage to address an issue that is very pertanent in the black community but no one really wants to admit. I am a dark skinned beautiful black women with four children. three are black and the baby is bi-racial. Hispanic and black. I allways was told I was beautiful by my parents but society told me different. It only dawned on me when I became an adult that it is people with the insecurities and not me. I know that society is going to try and treat my fair skinned child better than his siblings, but I refuse to let it happen. Any time someone makes a big deal over my bi-racial child which we never use that word at home I llways tie in my other children if they are with me. Like I will say, "his eyes look just like his brothers". For people having issues with there color always keep in mind that, "its not how people treat you its how you treat others thats going to matter when its all said and done".

Tyra,

I am a single mother of a mixed child she is hipanic and black and she is much lighter then i am but her father is not light he is a dark med color and i am as well my mother is "light skinded" almost white looking and my whols life it botherd me my mom was such a beautiful woman to me and i always felt less then her and still to this day i hate the color of my own skin as a latin woman i just dont fit anywear i am dark but not black and i was always shuned by other girls because i have realy silky soft thin hair and i was called a mutt but i am not mixed now as an adult i still hate my skin and some times i am jealous of my daughter and proud at the same time that she is not a "darky" i dont dicriminat against others i am atracted to all colors but i hate my own my eldest sister is the same color as i am and the other ine is much lighter and they are proud of themselvs yet i cant find it in myself to like my skin and i teach my kid to love herself but at the same time i hide my hate for my own color

I am a light skinned woman. I have been in situations where my complexion has been in my favor. But I have also been in situation where it was not. That is the way the world is. I have just learned to play the game. It sucks, but it is what it is. PS-Not all light skineed girls are stuck up!

Yesterdays show was very eye opening for me. I am a white female. I have a 2 year old bi-racial daughter. Her father is a very light skinned black man. My daughter has almost no color. I dont know how to give her an understanding of her backgroung. Her daddys family lives in another state and will not be around her on a regular basis. As a caucasian, I just dont know what is the apporopriate way make sure my daughter knows who she is. A beautiful light skinned black female. Sometimes I think it would be easier if she had darker skin. Maybe it would be less confusing for her. Her dad has told me that being so light skinned, he has had to fight harder to "earn" a place in the black community. I would love any suggestions. I just want to make sure my daughter grows up with confidence and a respect and appreciation for both of her races.

Tyra I caught the tail end of the show and about Do light skinned blacks have it easier and I have to personally say they do I consider myself brown skin medium tone. I grew up not hating anyone I have different shades in my family my mother is Ethopian and my dad is Black American I admit when I was younger I wondered if she really was my mother because she was very light and had freckles and I wish I had straighter hair and not rely on a relaxer the point is we cant change our skin tone when we need to worry about other issues that are affecting our world and get over this Iam better than you attitude, after all God and Jesus is perfect than us lowly humans I hope someday blacks can come together as one.

I am a dark skin black I agree with some of the comments the dark skin women made,such as why do black men always tell me I am a pretty black girl,as if dark skin women are not pretty,some black people do believe lighter skin is more beautiful,we are prejudice among our own race,its been that way for ever.I dont think it will ever change,just look at all these celebrities,black men in sports,tv,black music videos, they prefer lighter skin women over darker,you see it all the time.

Hey tyra :]
i kinda think white people do have it easier, because im half black and half white[half aboriginal] and my skin tone is fairly olive skin.. and i have seen that most white people get treated well and i have seen black people gett called the n word and they dont get treated right. Also because in this world we are our own person with different beliefs.

Much Love
Mariah

Hello, Tyra

I just finished watching a repeat of your "Do Light Skinned Black People Have It Easier?" episode and I enjoyed watching it. I have to admit I'm not a black girl, but I am a native american female with light skin, I mean, I could nearly pass off as a white female. Most other native americans have more tanned and browner skin tones. I grew up in the reservation and am now living in a city/town of about 20,000 people with mixed races and I find that white people do treat me better than my family members and friends who are browner than me... I know how hard it is for my people to be shunted, ignored and treated badly because of our native origin... I mean, some white people see my features or hear my native accent and realize I am native and that's usually when they start treating me bad too. I just wish that people would stop discriminating each other because of their skin colour, skin tones and races. It's slowly destroying our world...

Tyra,

On your show you asked the young lady,(I think her name was Tamara) If she had suffered any type of abuse due to her feelings toward dark-skinned black women, she stated that she was treated badly by dark-skinned females due to her complexion. Your response was in so many words, that the dark-skinned girls were lashing out because of the way they were treated. Wrong is wrong. No one should be treated unjustly whether they are light are dark. Next time you do a show on this topic, keep it real! Instead of trying to pretend to be somewhat neutral on the subject be honest about how you really feel. For you to justify a dark-skinned girl lashing out towards a light-skinned girl because of the way she is being treated simply says you have issues with light-skinned women as well. Well Tyra let me tell you, I am a light-skinned black woman, I am very familar with the issues between light and dark-skinned women. Light-skinned women get picked on and treated unfairly as little girls and adults just like dark-skinned women. Not all light-skinned women pick on or think they are superior to darker females. I didnt feel this way as a child, nor do I feel this way as an adult, even though I was picked on by dark-skinned girls, but I never felt inferior because of this either. Light-skinned black women deal with racisim from whites and black women like yourself. You made the statement that you really havent dealt with this, but your affected beacause your a black woman. There is some truth to your statement, I'm sure you've probably never been picked on for being to dark. But you do have some sort of jealously toward light-skinned women. How do I know this? Because I've seen it and dealt with it hundreds of times. I've seen the way you look at lighter black women and the way you act towards them on Top Model. You may not think its obvious, but it is. You even admitted on your show without realizing it when your best friend from high school was on and you were near tears because you stated that you envied her looks and popularity in school. It was not simply a coincidence that your friend was light-skinned. I dont know if your insecurity started with her or not but its pretty obvious you help perpetuate this issue. But honestly, its not just light-skinned black women that you have an issue with, you have issues with any attractive woman no matter what color she is. You have issues with confident women no matter their color. You wear a cloak of insecurity like its going out of style. 99% of your shows are catered to and centered around insecure women like yourself. Women with self esteem seem to be banned from the Tyra Show. I wonder why?

I think that all women are beautiful. I, personally, am a white teenager, and think that all skin tones and races have their problems and issues within themselves. White girls want to be tanned, and "their prettier," but white pale girls "aren't as pretty." Even the latian, asian and native american communities have race issues. But I think that every shade of the black skin tone is beautiful, and that they shoudn't be so hard on themselves, because look what they overcame, and they should be so proud of that, but when they say that light skinned girls are prettier, they are just taking one step back from what they accomplished.

Ya all this is extremely fake, and I dont even know why I am posting this but I felt like I had to. Tyra Banks acts like shes so proud of her heritage and gets (really offended) when you say dark skin people aren't as pretty. But why is it everytime you see her on t.v. shes trying to look white or as much of a white person she can. If shes so proad of being a (true black person) she schould not put in a weave everytime. I saw her baby picture all nappy haired and stuff, why dont she wear it naturally? I'll tell you why becuase she's ashamed of being black and she can't hide it. Well I'm a white girl and I am more concerned about this issue then I think she is. Bottom line she needs to quit bringing people on her show to talk abt color and race becuase first of it dont matter and secondly I think everyone can see shes the one those insecure about herself and has a tad bit of jealousy maybe to light skinned people as well????

I saw the show on race and I totally agree with somethings that were said. I am a dark-skinned woman who has siblings that are lighter than me and darker than. One of my sister is only a yr and a half older than I and we have the same mother and father and she turned out to be lite. I've always had issues with my skin-tone. In school I used to get teased for being so dark. But I have a twin sister who says that her skin color never has bothered her. When it comes to dating I'll date a dark-skinned person but I vowed never to have kids by one so that they won't be dark like me. I have two beautiful children, Genaisia's 3 and Jakobi's 1. They have the same father but yet my daughter is high yellow with curly hair and my son is brown-skinned with strait hair. It's wierd how they look so much alike but yet look so different. My sister says that I'm teaching my daughter the wrong thing to say. My kids are bi-racial so they have black and white relatives. At three years old my daughter already makes comments about skin color. She says she has a white granny and a dark nana. Then she says she's mixed. her daddy's mixed, her brothers black and her mommas black. She is very conceited for three, but I tell her all the time that her skin color is prettier than mine. Am I wrong for doing that?

this is a load of bull. i think it's your attitude that determines how people are treated nowadays. i am very dark and have travelled the world with no problems whatsoever