About two years ago on a Saturday afternoon, I was watching a program on television about the making of music videos. There was nothing extraordinary about the show and it wasn’t until one of the video vixens made the following statement that it grabbed my undivided attention. I heard this female say “Chocolate women are just as beautiful as light skinned sisters. But for some reason, they seem to get all of the major play in the videos.” Of course, I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement. Since the beginning of black history, the “light is right” syndrome has been in effect. Even within the black family, light skinned members were shown preferential treatment. I myself was discriminated against by my grandmother who in her ignorance, made no excuses for favoring her fair complexioned descendants. She would always make comments about my mother and sister being fair and pretty, but that I was the one with “the good hair.” Yes – good hair was all I had going for me. If I happened to date a dark skinned brother, Granny would never fail to ask “what do you see in him?” regardless of his apparent good qualities. On the other hand if the man happened to be light skinned, half caste or mixed with some other race, no questions were asked.

I knew from an early age that there was a definite distinction between “yellow folk” and their black counterparts. The distinction made such an impression on me that on many occasions I found myself wanting to not only have “good hair” – another trait that set you apart from the masses, but I also wanted to be light skinned. To add a bit of drama to the equation, I also dreamed of changing the color of my eyes from rich brown to maybe hazel or green. After all, it seemed that God definitely favored the lighties with all of the “good stuff”.

Fast forward many years later to 2006; the syndrome still exists. Recently, I was listening to my favorite radio station out here in Dallas, TX which had just played the new track by Jay Z and Beyonce, DeJaVue. The radio personalities invited listeners to call in and give their feedback about the song. More than a handful of callers stated that they didn’t like it which was their prerogative. However, in response to the negative comments, one of personalities said, “Ya’ll are just hatin’ on beautiful people. If this was a song by India Arie, ya’ll wouldn’t have nothin’ bad to say about it. But because it’s Beyonce’s an’ she’ fine an’ all a dat, ya’ll are hatin’ it.” Now you tell me – what could he possibly be trying to say? Notice he didn’t make a comparison between two comparably light complexioned sisters. His subtle “dis” toward the darker skinned woman wasn’t lost on me and whether he meant to or not, a negative message was being sent.

Take heart! All hope isn’t lost. More and more people of color are starting to appreciate their beautiful skin tones including me. Now I’m fine with my “mocha” complexion but to tell you truth, I absolutely love the chocolate brown color that the sun kisses me with when I go to the islands on vacation. Yes indeed, the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice!

We are so blessed to be a part of a spectrum that others from all parts of the world want to belong. You’ve got people spending serious money on tanning their bodies, just to get a little of what we already have. Isn’t it amazing that others get it and we don’t? So when I heard this sister’s near plea for acceptance, I thought to myself – what kind of vehicle/mechanism could I create to help us show that we are proud of the skin that we’re in? The answer didn’t come to me right away, but later on that night, it was as if my Father flooded my mind with endless possibilities. Out of the many ideas that He presented to me, Shades of Mocha was born. This unique line was created as an inspiration for all of us to embrace our beautiful skin tones. So whether you’re a Chocolate or Caramel Cutie, A Little Brown Sugar with Something Good for One’s Soul or A Mocha Angel that is Undeniably Precious, we’ve got you covered. If you’re Latina Licious, Latte Licious, Chocolate or Vanilla - It’s all Good, and we’ve got you covered. If you know that Dark Chocolate Tastes Oh! So! Good! And you want others to know, we’ve got you covered. If you agree that A Little Mocha Goes a Long Way and you want the world to know we've got you covered. If you know that Chocolate Love is the Sweetest One of All, go ahead and spread the word. SOM is representing all of us to the fullest! Enjoy your t-shirts and the fun that will come from wearing them. I assure you that they’ll make great conversation pieces and you’ll be displaying a message from the heart that tells it like it is; that you are so very proud of the skin that you are in. Experience the Spectrum!

May God Bless and Keep you,
Kay Karenz.

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