Has Beyonce Benefited From Colorism? Her Father, Mathew Knowles Seems To Think So.

Mathew Knowles is currently busy promoting his new book, Racism: From the Eyes of a Child. As a part of his promotional tour, he sat down with Ebony to speak in depth about the part that colorism played in his life as a child and how it led him to pursue Tina Knowles.

“When I was growing up, my mother used to say, “Don’t ever bring no nappy-head Black girl to my house.” In the deep South in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message.” He explains. “I have a chapter in the book that talks about eroticized rage. I talk about going to therapy and sharing–one day I had a breakthrough–that I used to date mainly White women or very high-complexion Black women that looked White. I actually thought when I met Tina, my former wife, that she was White. Later I found out that she wasn’t, and she was actually very much in-tune with her Blackness. I had been conditioned from childhood. With eroticized rage, there was actual rage in me as a Black man, and I saw the White female as a way, subconsciously, of getting even or getting back. There are a lot of Black men of my era that are not aware of this thing.” 

Speaking of mainstream artists who have benefited from colorism, Knowles plays no favorites, saying:

“When it comes to Black females, who are the people who get their music played on pop radio? Mariah Carey, Rihanna, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids [Beyonce and Solange], and what do they all have in common?”

Back when Knowles was still managing Destiny’s Child – the group was rocked by allegations that he forced member’s of the group to tan their skin so that Beyonce would appear lighter. If that were the case, Knowles’ history with colorism growing up would somewhat explain his actions.

These snippets were taken from the first part of the Ebony interview, which you can read by clicking here.