A friend of my SIL started an amazing project called “50 Shades of Black”

Since he can explain it way better than I ever could, here’s a snippet from the website…

“50 Shades of Black is about affirming the beauty found in every human being and critically examining the influential nature of sexuality & skin tone in the formation of identity.”

I feel like I look past the color of ones skin or their sexuality to see the real person underneath and it saddens me to think that there are people who don’t. It also makes me sad that we need an eye opening project to make us more accepting of our own and other people’s differences.

I think being different is what you make of it. It can be a bad thing if you let it, but it can also be a great thing. I tell my kids being different is awesome!  Who wants to be normal?!

Apparently my freckles are different. I’ve lived with them all of my life, but some people think they are the most amazing/weird/ugly/cool things.  I used to get someone weekly who would comment on how many freckles I have, how I got them, why do I have so many, giving them cute little names like “angel kisses” and sometimes not so cute names.  When I was in school I would come across kids who were rude about it or didn’t understand or thought they were ugly, but there were also people who didn’t care about them and even those who liked them.  Heck, just a couple of weeks ago I went to the dermatologist and there was a PA checking me out first and she said, “wow, you sure do have a lot of freckles!”  I thought it was amusing because surely if someone is working in a derm office they know about freckles and have seen them lots, but maybe not.  It didn’t offend me though.  People are curious about “different”, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing.  Some people think freckles are cool and some people don’t like them.  To each their own I suppose.  I don’t have a choice really since they aren’t going anywhere, but I’ve learned to love my freckles and embrace what makes me different.  I hope everyone can learn to love their differences whether it’s the color of your skin, your sexuality, your smile, your weight, etc.

I know the project goes much deeper than I can even comprehend, but this was my way of relating.  I think it’s a cool project and I wanted to spread the word.  Check out the website for a more in depth look into the 50 Shades of Black project and then check out the link at the bottom of this post to see how you can show your support!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Get your own awesome “Beautiful in Every Shade” shirt HERE