This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
Lupita Nyong'o, the Oscar-winning actress, has spoken about the impact of colourism on her life, saying she felt uncomfortable with her skin colour as a child.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Nyong'o said she had experienced colourism in a predominantly black society like Kenya, where she was raised.
She recalled being told at an audition that she was 'too dark' for television, and said that her younger sister, who had lighter skin, was often called 'beautiful' and 'pretty'.
'I definitely grew up feeling uncomfortable with my skin colour because I felt like the world around me awarded lighter skin,' Nyong'o told Newsnight's Emily Maitlis.
She said that this feeling was linked to the Eurocentric standards of beauty that are prevalent in many societies, and that colourism is 'the daughter of racism'.
Colourism is prejudice against people who have a darker skin tone or the preferential treatment of those who are of the same race but lighter-skinned.
Nyong'o's comments come ahead of the release of her children's book, Sulwe, which tells the story of a girl with darker skin than her family.
She said that she wrote the book to hold up a mirror to her own feelings and fantasies as a child, and to help children understand and overcome their own feelings of inadequacy.
Nyong'o's experiences with colourism are not unique, and she is not the only high-profile figure to speak out about the issue.
However, her comments are a powerful reminder of the ongoing impact of colourism on individuals and communities around the world.
