NEW YORK — India Arie’s critics have charged the Afro-centric American singer-songwriter with lightening her skin for the cover of “Cocoa Butter,” her new single.
India Arie, a Grammy Award winning producer of songs that celebrate her African-American heritage, has sold over 3.3 million records in the US and 10 million worldwide. But a well-lighted photograph threatens to shift the spotlight from her musical talent to her complexion.
Skin color has been the subject of heated debate in the African-American community in recent months. Beyonce has been accused of lightening her skin and blonding it up, as has Queen Latifa and Mary J. Blige.
“Colorism is unfortunately still an issue today. Dark skin is considered less than light skin in the in the minds of many in our community and in the media,” Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, co-directors and co-producers of the documentary “Dark Girls,” explained at The Grio.
Indeed, how to photograph people with dark skin is a persistent issue in photography and cinema. What exposure to use? Should you open up the lens? Should you stop down? What about lighting? As Monte Zucker at the New York Institute of Photography put it, “uncertainty was the norm, and confusion ruled.” And while the issue may now be mute for all but amateur photographers and cameramen, it remains a hot topic for consumers.
India Arie defended herself Friday on Twitter, citing the “magnificent lighting” as the cause for her “glow. She added that she has no desire to lighten her skin because she has sufficient self-esteem. But like a good sport, she added that she’d like to keep open the debate on the issue of racism and colorism in the black community.
