Brown Skin

We came to sit outside of the Chapel after Sunday Mass, sharing a cup of juice and some sweetened bread. Today at Mass we were only eight, including a 3-month old baby, Emmanuel, and the parish priest.

As we sat outside I held Chuchu’s baby boy. It was just a few months ago, in the summer, that I had met this 19-year-old. She was pregnant at the time; beautifully pregnant and as scared as any first time mom. Now, I had both her and her baby in front of me. What a sight! Chuchu has grown to be a responsible and loving mother and her son, Emmanuel, is exactly what his name means: God is with us. They will both be baptized within the year. How exciting!

So here we are sharing some bread after Communion and Chuchu blurts out that she wants to be “white like Abba”. The priests here are called Abba (“Daddy”). Our parish priest asked her, “What do you think about the color of your skin?” She made reference to her skin being like the dirt on the ground. She was very displeased with herself and insisted that Abba’s skin was beautiful unlike her own brown skin.

At this, Abba reasoned with her that in other countries people of white skin pay a lot of money to have her color of skin. He affirmed that she was beautiful, “conjo”---brown skin and all.

How many women are there with this same complex? -feeling inferior or less attractive because of their flawless, brown skin? I’ll tell ya, I ride around the town here and continue to be in awe at the beauty of the Ethiopian people, men and women, all brown skinned…all beautiful.

Maybe it’s easier for me to believe that brown skin is beautiful. I’ve never felt inferior because of the color of my skin. My parents, although both from the Dominican Republic, look more opposite than night and day. My dad with very light skin and green eyes, stands out among my mother and her relatives who are all dark skinned with black hair and brown eyes. For me, growing up, this was beautiful…both colors of skin, not one more than the other.

To all the Chuchus out there who are brown skinned, you are beautiful.

Grace and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

photo credit: Janil Caba