By Sharee Silerio
Nyakim Gatwech, a South Sudanese model with the nickname “Queen of Dark”, is using her platform to encourage, uplift and inspire black women and girls to love themselves and the skin they’re in.
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Society has long associated the color black and blackness with evil, death and negativity, but Gatwech is having none of it, and is using her platform of over 200,000 followers on Instagram to make it known.
She regularly receives comments about her dark-chocolate-hued complexion, and earlier this year, her Uber driver asked her a disrespectful question about her skin. Gatwech responded with power, grace and pride.
Since then, Gatwech has been regularly posting breathtaking photos of herself, including moving poems, words of advice and affirmations that shine a light on the beauty of black skin.
If you peruse her comments, you’ll find many that admire her skin tone, saying that they wish they had it. They say that, but to live and walk in her shoes is to constantly rise above oppression against who she was born to be.
Most people aren’t ready for such a reality. Beauty on this level requires strength, self-reliance and unwavering joy.
In a nation and world that praises light as “beautiful”, “right”, “good” and “better”, it’s important to see women who look like us encourage self-love regardless of what other people think, say or believe.
Women all over the world, of various ethnicities, use skin creams and solutions to lighten their skin.
It’s time that we stop waiting for the world to view us as beautiful, because that day may never come. We must recognize the beauty that we are, that we were created to be.
We define beauty. We define ourselves. We are the gift that black is.
Have you had a difficult time loving your melanin skin? What do you think about Nyakim Gatwech’s posts? How can black women love themselves in a world that tells them that they should hate who they are?
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Sharee Silerio is a St. Louis-based freelance writer, Film and TV writer-producer, and blogger. When she isn’t creating content for The Root or The St. Louis American, she enjoys watching drama/sci-fi/comedy movies and TV shows, writing faith and self-love posts for SincerelySharee.com, relaxing with a cup of chai tea, crafting chic DIY event décor, and traveling. Review her freelance portfolio at ShareeSilerio.com then connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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