White Privilege Inside Brown Skin

Privilege based on skin colour isn’t ‘white’, it’s ‘light’.

Image of myself and my four children a few years ago. Owned by author.

You probably think that ‘white privilege’ doesn’t belong to me. How could it when my skin is brown? But I have a secret I haven’t shared, something that until now I have dared not say out loud for fear of being shouted down.

I don’t think it should be called white privilege. My skin is a blend of my Nigerian and Irish families and in my world it is not as simple as black and white, nothing ever is. There are a multitude of shades in-between and that is where most of us reside. The truth of privilege based on the colour of your skin is not white, it’s ‘light’. The lighter your skin the more privileged your life.

You see, I’m mixed race. I wrote a piece here some time ago in which I talk about being mixed and I was fascinated at the idea that the term ‘mixed’ is apparently a British identity not a global one as I had assumed. I’m Irish Nigerian, born and raised in England and proud of each puzzle piece that has come together to form me, but I’m very aware that I am light skinned and always have been.

I have memories of my teenage school years and being bluntly told that I was ‘siding with them’ for wearing the clothes I did and not being ‘black enough’. I remember making a new friend and having so much in common…