She was the founder of “For Brown Girls” an initiative to encourage dark skinned women to celebrate their beauty. At just 22 years old, she committed suicide in what many believe was due to her low self-esteem issues.
Karyn Washington launched her #DarkSkinRedLip initiative after rapper A$ap Rocky cautioned dark skinned girls against wearing red lipstick. The mission of both of her endeavors was to encourage darker skinned women to celebrate their beauty.
The story has gotten the attention of those who feel that the African American community can often become fixated on skin color as a way of measuring a woman’s beauty.
Although no one knows if these self-esteem issues directly contributed to Washington’s passing, it is clear that they didn’t make her life better. Not in her mind anyway, which is why I did the show in October 2012 on light skin vs. dark skin because it is a sad state and mentality that some women of color suffer and believe.
Sad.
Conversations Of A Sistah 