Lupita Nyong'o: 'Colorism, society's preference for lighter skin, is alive and well'
The beautiful and multi-talented Lupita Nyong’o can now add published author to her long list of accomplishments with the impending release of her children’s book, Sulwe. The actress took to Instagram to get personal about hardships growing up as a dark skinned girl and how these struggles inspired her to write.
“This is 5-year-old me,” Nyong’o wrote under a picture of her five-year-old self. “I reflected on this little girl's feelings and fantasies when I decided to write my children's book, #Sulwe. With this book, I wanted to hold up a mirror for her.”
Sulwe, named after the protagonist, is about a little girl who “has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything,” the book’s summary reads.
The Black Panther actress in her post went on to note how important reading was for her, but said it was more imperative that she and other girls saw themselves in what they read.
“As a little girl reading, I had all of these windows into the lives of people who looked nothing like me, chances to look into their worlds, but I didn't have any mirrors. While windows help us develop empathy and an understanding of the wider world, mirrors help us develop our sense of self, and our understanding of our own world. They ground us in our body and our experiences,” she continued.
Nyong’o has never been shy to address colorism, which is a prejudice against people with darker skin, a problem that she pointed out still goes on today — but she hopes her book will help dark-skinned girls see themselves in a different light.
“Colorism, society's preference for lighter skin, is alive and well. It's not just a prejudice reserved for places with a largely white population. Throughout the world, even in Kenya, even today, there is a popular sentiment that lighter is brighter. I imagined what it would have been like for this little girl to turn the pages of her picture books and see more dark skin in a beautiful light. This book is my dream come true for kids like her today.”
Sulwe is set to be released on Oct. 15.
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