Teaching kids of color about colorism
01:53 - Source: CNN

“I think my skin is ugly … I don’t want to be dark.”

That stunning confession comes from 7-year-old LaShawnte Brown – whose reasoning for disowning the color of her skin is “because light skinned is pretty.”

LaShawnte’s teacher, 22-year-old Kiara Lee, decided to confront the negative self identities of her students by exploring the concept of colorism using tactics taken directly from the history books.

Soledad profiles Kiara, and her shocking teaching methods, in this piece of “Who is Black in America?” 

Soledad O’brien’s “Who is Black in America?” premieres this Sunday at 8 PM ET/PT.