(AllHipHop News) Light-skinned Jermaine believes we are still mentally shackled to the idea that “light skin is better.”
In an interview with BET.com, J. Cole spoke on how race affects the success of himself and President Barack Obama:
Barack Obama would not be President if he were dark skin. You know what I mean? That’s just the truth. I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin. I’m not saying that for sure, I’m still as talented as I am and Obama is still as smart as he is, but it’s just a sad truth…
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Cole framed his comment with a story of a recent run in with the law in New York City’s Time Square. According to Cole, he was stopped by police while driving because the officers believed his front window was too tinted. Cole even hinted at ulterior motives of the the police during the stop:
I had my hat low and I think I was looking “suspicious” just as a Black man with my brim low, when I was really just trying to cover my face. They came to my window, pulled me over. I feel like if I was a white man driving, they wouldn’t question me about my tints. They told me to roll down my back window; they look in my car as if they’re looking for something. I feel like that was the real thing, they were trying to catch somebody slipping.
