Colorism Healing Writing Contest Archive

This is the archive page for past contests. We are not running a contest in 2023.

Dr. Sarah L. Webb launched the International Colorism Healing Writing Contest in 2014 to raise awareness about colorism among all people and to provide a creative outlet for self-expression and for personal and collective healing. Since then, the contest has reached thousands of diverse people across the globe and attracted world-class, award-winning guest judges. Participants have expressed how the contest played a pivotal moment in their awareness and understanding of colorism and in their personal healing journeys.

You can read these wonderful writings in any of the 6 beautiful anthologies we’ve published in conjunction with the contests.

To see results and summaries of each contest, click on the year linked below or simply scroll down.

2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022

Watch Live Book Launches

See authors from over the years read their work and discuss!

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2014

Thank you to everyone who submitted poetry or encouraged someone else to submit. We received over 300 incredible poems. Thank you to the judges Opal Palmer-Adisa, Sharon G. Flake, and Calida Rawles for volunteering their time to make this contest a reality. And thank you, dear reader, simply for caring. Here are the results of the 2014 Colorism Poetry Contest.

Division 1: Ages 10-14

Winner: “Just the Color” by Jabari Butler

Honorable Mentions

“Accepted” by Rebecca Jimenez
“Ares Red” by Gia Spann
“Deep are the Victims” by Sophia Grudzina
“My Light Shines” by Khloe Henry

Division 2: Ages 15-19

Winner: “Midnight Girl” by Marlana Edwards

Honorable Mentions

“The Blacker the Berry” by Kiki Nicole
“Color and its ‘ism'” by Kolby Whack
“Scarred Eyes” by Joy Choe
“Whatchu Mixed Wit?” by Eric Powell Jr. aka E.L.P.J

Division 3: Ages 20+

Winner: “For my Little Black Girl” by Danielle Milton

Honorable Mentions

“All that is Left” by Heidi Rhodes
“Minority (Colon) Talented” by Crystal Armstrong
“Prism” by Sydney Odell
“That Would Be” by Paulamia Pass

BUY THE 2014/2016 BOOK

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2016

We are excited to announce the top 5 winners in each Division of the 2016 CHPC. Thank you to our judges Kiara Lee and Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder and to everyone who submitted poetry or supported this work in any way. Below are the results of the 2016 Colorism Healing Poetry Contest. Click the title to read the poem.

Division 2: Ages 12-19

1st Place: “Ghost” by Ren-Caspar Smith
2nd Place: “On Being a Dark Skin” by Basirat A. Owe
3rd Place: “La Morena” by Esmeralda Hic
4th Place: “Contrast” by Marielle R. Medina

Division 3: Ages 20+

1st Place: “The Baby Factory” by Cassandra Alfred
2nd Place: “Getting Blacker” by Katrina N. Robinson
3rd Place: “Beginning with the Color of My Skin” by Allayah R. Carr
4th Place: “Things I Wanted When I Was 10” by Zoe A. Everett
5th Place: “Untitled” by Letonia Louis Robertson

BUY THE 2014/2016 BOOK

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2017

The 2017 Results are In! I’d like to give a special thanks to all participants and supporters, guest judges Alejandra Torres and Amaris Wilson, and the Black Women Being fund. Each of the following poems will also be published in the anthology Colorism: Essays and Poems, scheduled for release this fall. I know you’ve all been patiently waiting for several months to see the final results. So without further ado…

Youth Poetry Division

1st Place: “Subbi” by Charlotte Namakula
2nd Place: “Morena” by Aislinn Ramos
3rd Place: “Prophecy” by Aisha Khan

Finalist: “I Am More” by Krithika Shrinivas
Finalist: “A Diamond Broken Free” by Sharon Harrison

Editor’s Pick: “What We Fear” by Pauline Monter
Editor’s Pick: “The Life Of A Nutty Buddy” by Lillian Lewis
Editor’s Pick: “Xicana” by Marisol Lara
Editor’s Pick: “Colorism” by Anam Hussain
Editor’s Pick: “Who can say?” by Sophia Denton
Editor’s Pick: “Her” by Patrice Moody
Editor’s Pick: “The Skin I’m In” by Darvonette Johnson
Editor’s Pick: “My Brother” by Gladis Ricaurte
Editor’s Pick: “Untitled” by Aaliyah Jones
Editor’s Pick: “I Grew Up Hating Myself” by Katrielle Ely Francke

Youth Essay Division

1st Place: “Hues of Hatred and Healing” by Janell Lee
2nd Place: “The Color of Water and Me” by Abigail Koerner

Adult Poetry Division

1st Place: “White Asia” by Sabrina Pyun
2nd Place: “A Legacy of Colorism” by Elizabeth Upshur
3rd Place: “Her Every Feature Except Her Skin” by Latrie Marshall

Finalist: “Brown Skin Jawn” by Tajinnea Wilson
Finalist: “Melanin” by Shamiika Mitchell

Editor’s Pick: “Finding My Place” by Anastasia Hirschi
Editor’s Pick: “My Skin is Not my Sin” by Arigo Dut

Adult Essay Division

1st Place: “Black by Nature” by Stella Mpisi
2nd Place: “What Colorism Did to Me” by Chelsea Brooks

Editor’s Pick: “Yo Daddy’s Side” by Ebonie Adams
Editor’s Pick: “Beauty, Like Water” by Faith Esene
Editor’s Pick: “Black Tea” by Edoka Writes

Guest Judges

I’m honored to announce the wonderful Guest Judges for the 2017 Colorism Healing Writing Contest: Alejandra Torres and Amaris Wilson. Alejandra has been a great colleague of mine at LSU for the past 3 years. Amaris is a talented writer whose poem “Dark Chocolate” is featured in the anthology Colorism Poems. Continue reading to learn more about each of them.

Alejandra Torres

Alejandra Torres is a PhD candidate in English, a Women’s and Gender Studies graduate minor, and the recipient of the Economic Development Assistantship at Louisiana State University. Her research interests include literacy, language learning, and youth studies. Her dissertation seeks to address the educational needs of undocumented adolescent English Language Learners. She has taught college composition and high school English and is currently a coordinator for Humanities Amped, a justice-oriented, critically-engaged literacy program. Contact her at atorr35@lsu.edu.

Amaris Wilson

Born in Natchitoches, LA, Amaris Wilson is a two-time member of the DTHS poetry slam team and a two time member of the Baton Rouge Brave New Voices poetry slam team. She has been published more than five times and has been featured on the popular blog, For Harriet. Amaris’s poetry focuses on blackness, youth, womanhood, and the intersections between them. She is currently attending Louisiana State University, pursuing a B.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing.

BUY THE 2017 BOOK

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2018

I’d like to give special thanks to all participants and supporters as well as guest judges Donney Rose and Benjamin Washington. Each year I look forward to reading every submission and sharing the wonderful poems and essays with all of you. This year is perhaps the most diverse, and we have the largest number of Editor’s Picks ever. That means 2018 contestants really explored the subject of colorism from a variety of perspectives. I know you’ve been patiently waiting to see the results, so without further ado…

Youth Poetry Division

1st Place: “Hands” by Anvitha Soordelu
2nd Place: “Paper Bag Blues” by Ashley Tate

Youth Essay Division

1st Place: “Dipped in Vantablack” by Stephanie Hasford
2nd Place: “(Un)fair and Lovely” by Isha Sharma

Adult Poetry Division

1st Place: “The Day I Called My Grandmother Ugly” by Andreen Hodge
2nd Place: “Souls Within” by Monique Desir

Adult Essay Division

1st Place: “Biting My Tongue” by Nicollette Davis
2nd Place: “Untitled” by Harrison II

Editor’s Picks

BUY THE 2018 BOOK

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2020

We’d like to give special thanks to all participants and supporters as well as guest judges Monique Desir, Aditi John, and Breeanna Wright. The results are finally in, and we’re excited to share this year’s voices with you!

2020 Judging Panel

Monique L. Desir

Monique L. Desir was born and raised in Florida. She’s a full-time reading teacher who hasn’t quite figured out how to escape the Sunshine State and is surviving and thriving within its alligator-infested clutches with her husband and three sons. The daughter of West Indian parents (Haitian father, Jamaican mother), she loves learning about different cultures, languages and people. She binge-watches forensic television shows and Soca dances until she glows, so she can have seconds on cake. Her stories have been published in FIYAH Literary Magazine, Nightlight Podcast, Colorism Healing anthology Volume 2, and Rivière Blanche’s 2019 Dimension Uchronie short story anthology. Find her on Twitter @moniquedesir.

Aditi John

Aditi Precious John is pursuing B.Com from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi with her first year coming to a successful close. She is aiming to prove herself as a banker in her near future. She started to appreciate poetry and admire poets since her 9th grade and dreamt to be one of them. A page named Secret of Shadows with 6.3k+ followers on Instagram, is being handled by her for the past 2 years. Writing has been her passion since ages. She’s a reader by the day and a writer by the night.

Breeanna Wright

Breeanna Wright is a poet whose work predominantly covers the complexity of love and African American life. Recognizing that the adversity many African Americans experience today stems from the same seed of struggle her ancestors endured inspires her work. She hopes to give the African American community a voice through her words by painting the diverse image of black life, focusing on both the beauty and adversity rooted in blackness.

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1st Place Winner: Jaidyn Bryant- “Pious Creole Belle” (Poetry)

Jaidyn Bryant is a freshman Biology pre-med student at Xavier University. A recent graduate of McKinley High School, she has public health aspirations, particularly in Black and Hispanic communities. This poem was written with James Baldwin’s concept of the Alabaster Christ in conjunction with particular southern black family & faith dynamics in mind. 

2nd Place Winner: Elizabeth Upshur- “A Letter to Myself if I Ever Forget Who I Am” (Nonfiction Essay)

Elizabeth Upshur describes herself as a Black Southern poet. She holds an MFA from Western Kentucky University and her work can be found in Mistake House, Pomona Valley Review, and Red Mud Review.

3rd Place Winner: Isha Jain-  “Mama’s Milk” (Fiction Story)

BUY THE 2020 BOOK

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Editor’s Picks

The following authors will also be featured in the upcoming anthology.

• Delores Almond
• Shainah Andrews
• Alanah Cooper
• Christina Cooper
• Paris Daniels
• Maya Dave
• Nakia Edmond
• Princess Folajin
• Emily Ford
• Vania Frimpong
• Joy Hallare
• Sarah Harawa
• Reign Keezheekoni
• Miah La Rue
• Kiana Livingston
• Vina Lorde
• C Liegh McInnis
• Carson Meyers
• Adolya Moore
• Sienna Morgan
• Dayo Otolorin
• Nicole Ransom
• Samiksha Tulika Ransom
• Shaderica Sibley
• Bobbi Simmons
• Fantisha Singletary
• Kelsie Tillage
• Alexis Ward
• Olivia Wilks
• Tajinnea Wilson

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2021

2021 Contest Judges

Bobbi Simmons

Bobbi J. Simmons is a poet, writer and author of the new novel, Birdwild. Birdwild is her first novel in a series of follow-up books. As a veteran educator she holds an Ed. S. degree in Educational Leadership.  Bobbi has spent the past two and a half decades teaching the various genres of reading and writing. Her writing is the therapeutic method she uses in order to write passionately about fictional and non-fictional scenarios. Bobbi’s insatiable appetite for writing gives her writing a profound spark of high energy. She was the 2018 Colorism Healing Poetry Contest editor’s pick winner for her poem about the essence of natural hair called, “Black Cotton.” Two of her pieces were featured in the 2020 Colorism Healing Writing Contest. She is the founder and creator of the writing group, “Free to Be Penned Up,” a charted writing club for young future authors and artists passionate about their work. Since it’s conception the club has aspired and propelled several writers and artist to the next level as winners of various local, state and national contests. Bobbi recently retired and devotes her new found time to writing from the comfort of her home, and communing with the exquisiteness of nature in her flower and vegetable gardens. She spends her free time traveling the world with her amazingly handsome husband, Thomas. They are both jazz enthusiasts and adventurists. One of their most memorable and thrilling escapades was the zip line ride in Labadee, Haiti.

Sienna Morgan

Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Sienna Morgan is a fresh name in authorship, but her name is positively here to stay. Through descriptive prose, with an admonishing, tactful and scripture-esque voice, she is sure to captivate. Topics such as colorism, bullying, faith and mental health, are at the heart of her work. Sienna’s words offer hope, inclusion and implores every reader to self-reflect.

Visit Sienna’s personal Website/Portfolio 
Connect with Sienna on LinkedIn

Project Assistants

Naila Buckner

Naila Buckner is currently a sophomore at UIS, pursuing a degree in Visual Arts. She has a deep appreciation for creative writing as a form of healing and self-expression and is grateful to be a part of this contest. She has been the lead designer for this year’s book cover.

Diana Vazquez

Diana recently graduated from the University of Illinois Springfield with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She was the Project Assistant for the 2020 contest and joined the team again for 2021. She will be starting graduate school in the Fall 2021 to pursue a career as an editor for a trade publisher.

Patreon Acknowledgements

Special acknowledgement goes to the CHWC Patreon subscribers who committed financial support to make this contest and this book possible:  Akosua Lesesne,  Bobbi Simmons, CaTyra Polland, Chantale Sterling, Diana Vazquez, Dyani Douze, Gabriella Schiller, Janice Ledet, Kara Fabella, Kent Blumberg, Mallory LeNoir, and Michelle Do.

Contest Results

First Place:
Chanda Rule, “Picture Day,” essay (nonfiction)

Second Place: 
Olliette Murry-Drobot, “A Tattered Brown Paper Bag,” essay (nonfiction)

Third Place: 
Shainah Andrews, “At Its Roots,” short story (fiction)

Runner Up:
Marsha Malcolm, “Digital Passing,” short story (fiction)

Runner Up:
Ade`Zsa Davis,”I Am (A Journal Entry),” poem

Editor’s Picks: Listed below as anthology contributors

View Results of Previous Contests

Anthology

Featured Authors:

JOÃO AMOS- “Self – Hatred”
IG: @jony.wrek

SHAINAH M. ANDREWS– “At Its Roots,” “Fertile All the While,” and “Just Not for Me”
IG: @ShainahMAndrews
Tw: @ShainahMAndrews
Other: YouTube

SHRADDHA ARORA- “Why Colour Matters?”

ANTOINETTE AZAR- “Picking Teams (for my son)”

GEORGETTE BRINDLE- “The Pretty One”
IG: @Shugintheraw

MARIAH S. BRISHBORN- “The Midnight Girl” and “Black Is Brazen”
IG: @dollov.Poetrii

ADÈZSA (PRONOUNCED: A-DEJA)- “I AM (A Journal Entry)”
IG: @loraysjourneys and @__lorayyy

CHRISLIE DOR- “Black Lives Matter”
IG: @Chrisliedor

PAMELA E DURAN- “A piece of my mind”

MARY EGGERS– “The Grand Illusion”

FOLAJIN PRINCESS OLAPEJU- “Battle of Fate”
IG: @pheoohnah
Tw: @peajay6fiona
FB: Felix Princess Martha

RAINA GOODINE- “In Your Shades”

BERRY J.- “Dark One”
IG: @lilaclocs
Other: YouTube

ALEJANDRO JALIFF- “Shone” and “The Skin-Color Dimension”

NILANJANA KAR- “Color or Colours?”
IG: k_nillz
FB: Nilanjana Kar

ALEXIS LAWSON– “Salt Eaters”
IG: @HerBlackHand
Tw: @HerBlackHand

MEGHNA MAJUMDER– “The Prism of Prejudice”

RAPTI MUKHERJEE- “The Most Beautiful Colour”
IG: @rapti_mukherjee
FB: Rapti Mukherjee

OLLIETTE MURRY-DROBOT- “A Tattered Brown Paper Bag”
IG: @ollietted

TAYLOR NATSEWAY- “Indigenous Colorism”

ZURI PATTERSON– “Jailbreak”

ESHA PILLAY– “Thirty, Flirty (not really LOL) and Surviving Colorism”
IG: @izland_kuli
Tw: @izlandkuli

CATYRA POLLAND– “Black BLACK”
IG: @pollandllc
Tw: @pollandllc
FB: Polland LLC

KENNEDI ROBERTS- “Untitled”
IG: @kennediroberts
LI: Kennedi Roberts

CHANDA RULE– “Picture Day”
IG: @iamchandarule
Tw: @iamchandarule

TAYLOR C. SCOTT & JAXMYN- “Ways of Looking at a Black Woman”
IG: @taylor_c_scott and @jaxiguess
Tw: @jaxiguess

MARNIKA SHELTON– “The Pursuit of Whiteness”
IG: @nikacherrelle
Tw: @nikacherrelles

PAIGE SMITH- “The Forgotten”
IG: @itz._paigee

EBONY STEWART– “Burnt Sugar”
IG: @gullyprincess
Tw: @EbPoetry
FB: Ebony Stewart

SRIKA SUDHEER- “beautiful girl”

ELLEN SWEETMAN– “Tierra de Umbria” and “All You Need”
IG: @mylivelybrush
FB: The Art of Ellen Sweetman

LISA DAWN TAYLOR– “Is That Good Hair?”

KIERRA “3RRA” TURNBULL– “Asphalt Aspirations”
IG: @Undecided3rra

ELIZABETH UPSHUR- “Colorism: Memory 299 of a Girl” and “Untitled”
IG: @Elizawriteswords
Tw: @elizawriteswords

DISHA WALIA- “The Hues of Nature”
IG: @quillinary
Tw: @quillinary

ALEXIS WARD– “We’ll Have Beautiful Mixed Babies”
IG: @illustrated_lexicon

OLIVIA T. WILKS– “Black, yet Comely”
IG: @__livwithpurpose

TAJINNEA WILSON– “My Color Has No Control”
IG: @ms.taj
Tw: @OfficialMsTaj
Other: Medium

Cover Art- Artist Info

This year’s cover features an original painting as part of the overall design.

Title: “Waves”

Artist: Melanie Royster

IG: @melroyart

Bio: MELROYart is an art business ran by Melanie Royster, a Visual Artist from Maryland. Melanie’s design style is influenced by Caribbean and West African cultures, stemming from her Jamaican background. Her concepts are centered around power of women.

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2022

Excerpt from the 2023 Anthology:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” –Unknown

In 2013, I launched a blog titled Colorism Healing. The solo endeavor was purely the work of my individual passion and vision. Over the years as my vision grew, I realized I could not manifest it all on my own. I needed my village.

Firstly, I needed the mental, emotional, and spiritual support of like-minded people who also believed in the mission. I wanted CH to have staying power, and as the above proverb reminds us, community is the only way we can go far. But staying power also means that I create a plan for passing the torch so that CH can truly live on beyond my lifetime.

Secondly, the CH mission needed a greater range of skills, knowledge, resources, perspectives, and time than I could have as an individual. I had become the bottleneck for Colorism Healing’s expanding vision. In the past decade, I matured enough to recognize that I don’t hold all the answers. What was CH missing, or missing out on, that I couldn’t see with just my single perspective? While I’ve had community and support in unofficial ways (my mom and sister are behind-the-scenes fixtures), I needed to get more intentional.

Enter: Diana Vazquez, Naila Buckner, Gayla Guidry, Shainah Andrews, and Jaana Randle. 

Diana, Naila, and Jaana are former students that I met during my somewhat brief tenure as an English professor. In addition to recognizing their creativity and passion, I trusted their ethics. Gayla (a relative I’ve seen grow up from birth!) joined CH as my virtual assistant in late 2021. Shainah is a multi-year participant and winner of a previous CH writing contest, and she’s remained an enthusiastic member of the CH community. Because of her experience with the contest from the other side and her proven passion for both healing colorism and for writing and publishing, I invited her to chair the 2022 contest team.

I have been so honored to work with this gifted group of young people, and I’m extremely proud of the work they’ve accomplished as part of the Colorism Healing Writing Contest over the past two years. This year marks a special milestone in the evolution of Colorism Healing’s work because the contest and publishing were completely executed by the team.

It also represents one important value I have, which is mentorship. My intention has always been that this working relationship is reciprocal in every way. As much as I love to see finished products, I also love to see professional and personal learning and growth within each team member.

I’m excited to see how this collaboration impacts the ongoing evolution of Colorism Healing.

Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah L. Webb

Introducing the 2022 Guest Judges

Lyrical Faith is a Black American Educator, Activist and Spoken Word Poet from The Bronx, NY. She is the 3rd ranked Woman Poet in the World as of the 2022 Women of the World Poetry Slam, an inaugural Bronx Poet Laureate finalist, a two-time recipient of the Bronx Council on the Arts BRIO Award, and the 2015 Syracuse University Poet of the Year. 

She’s a graduate of the Public Relations program at Syracuse University, a Masters degree recipient of the Higher Education & Student Affairs program at NYU, and a current Social Justice Education Doctoral student at UMass Amherst studying the intersections of arts and activism.

Through her poetry, Lyrical Faith strives to inspire, educate and advocate for intersectional and institutional issues by merging the arts and activism from a faith-based worldview.

LINKS:

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lyricalfaithpoetry/

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/lyricalfaithpoetry/

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7oMtpPFhRxd2l23TAxtDzQ

Have you checked out her “BLACK POEM” yet? https://youtu.be/hIazeB6mBto

Q: Among your many life paths is the one of an artist: how important is it for writers to discuss the topic of colorism?

A: Colorism plagues many communities of color and is the root cause of very harmful ideologies. Writers shed light on the discussions that make us uncomfortable and help people feel seen to combat those issues.

Aaron Geter is a North Carolina native — Raleigh born, Zebulon raised, and currently residing in Charlotte, NC. Geter is a Black American Spoken Word Poet and Recording Artist-Engineer with an extensive background in Performing Arts & Music Production. He began his entertainment journey at the young age of six and has grown into a well known creative art enthusiast. Aside from the art, Geter has a deep love for nature, childlike fun, indulgence in relaxation, and family. He aspires to help create bridges for other Black artists to reach their dreams as he crafts his own.

LINKS:

Instagram – https://instagram.com/AaronGeter

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AaronGeter

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/realaarongeter

YouTube – https://youtube.com/MrAaronGeter

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@aarongeterentertainment 

To hear spoken word projects by Aaron Geter as well as his music, also check out his Linktree. (https://linktr.ee/aarongeter)

Q: Among your many life paths is the one of an artist: how important is it for writers to discuss the topic of colorism?

A: I believe in artists being true to themselves, and if colorism is part of your truth, it should be part of your art. 

As a Black American man, Aaron Geter has sought to enlighten & inspire with truth of his own by highlighting the injustices of oppression, as well as the neglected beauty of the Black American, within his work with pieces like “Black Beautiful Queen” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFyxZUB-OSw)  & “UNDOUBTABLY” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4wVtyMoEog).

Le’ianna Nicole is a southern black woman storyteller currently residing in Charlotte, NC. She is a weaver of stories through film, poetry, theatre, and photography. She seeks to intimately explore the lived experiences of Black women across the Afro-Diaspora, creating havens of collective healing and empowerment. Through her work, she hopes to explore black ancestral memory, contribute to liberation movements, uncover/dismantle systems of oppression, and live in the duality of black joy and rage. She holds a BA from Winthrop University in Theatre Performance. Beyond the art she creates, Le’ianna is a lover of nature, a hopeless romantic for words, a lover of all things black culture, astrology, beaches, and a chicken wing connoisseur! She seeks to actualize all the things she’s imagined and live her life as a love letter to all black women including herself. When she isn’t creating you can find her laughing hysterically at her Twitter feed, mixing up herbs, or somewhere sunbathing.

LINKS:

Website – https://leiannagladden0.wixsite.com/leiannanotleana

Instagram – http://https//www.instagram.com/leiannanotleana/

Q: Among your many life paths is the one of an artist: how important is it for writers to discuss the topic of colorism?
A: Colorism is a byproduct of the white settler colonialism that continues to plague and oppress us all, any writer dedicated to freedom and liberation must address this in some way. I aim to create art in the tradition of the revolutionary artist that came before me like Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, and so forth these women were more than artists but cultural workers. Creating art in service to their community and I feel any artist of the global majority or of the marginalized must use their work to be of service to their community and help dream up freedom.

Introducing the 2022 Cover Artist

We are SO thrilled to announce the 2022 Colorism Healing Writing Contest anthology cover artist — Kenrick Jobe!!

Kenrick Jobe is a 27 year old visual artist based in Lexington, North Carolina. He’s aspiring to be a positive example for both visual artists and people of color internationally. 

Well, Kenrick, you and your incredible art are in GREAT company! Please be sure to check out artwork he already has on his website available for purchase: https://www.kenrickjobe.com/

Also, follow Kenrick on Instagram and Twitter! (@KenrickJobe)

AND NOW, FOR THE RESULTS…….

2022 Colorism Healing Writing Contest Winners

1st Place

My Brown Girls, They Gather Me | Jeanine DeHoney

2nd Place

Confidence and Self-Love Won’t Erase Colorism | Celeste Graham

3rd Place

Skin Deep Meets Deep Skin | Maha Ashraf

Here are the 2022 editors’ picks!!

Colourism and the English Language | by Portia C. Allen

CREAM i 

CREAMii 

CREAMiii | by Aprili Amani

Berry Picking | by Olivia Wilks

What Color is the Earth | by Rapti Mukherjee

Napturally Black | by Zaria Eleanya

Healing Colorism: New Agreement | by Jasmine Bailey

Black is Good | by Rachel Olaniyi

Healing Is ‘Your’ Journey | by Disha Walia

The Black Bird’s Back | by Saheli Dey

How You See Me | by JR Rudolph

Natural Woman

Twilight Zone

Know Your Worth | by Sergina Maignan 

Woman to Woman, Girl to Girl | by Paris Daniels

The Praise and the Shame | by Daisy Bravo

My Pigment is Brown – So You’re Mean to Me? | by Hector Rocha

Dating While Dark | by Maya Williams

washing machine skin | by magdalena johnson

Don’t Tell Me | by Clara Olivo

Still I Breathe | by Victoria Ojo

Porque Soy Una Mujer Negra: Una Declaración a Mí Misma | by Rozlen Jeter

Snakes | by Chelsey Phan

Picture an Arab Man

The Marketplace of Desire | by Makiya Davis-Bramble

My Light-Skinned Baby | by Simone DeVone

beauty doesn’t matter | by Divyashri Babu

The Girl with All the Darkness | by Elizabeth Upshur

Seven Days of Skin Color 

KETANJI | by Alejandro Jaliff

Aftershocks | by Fareh Malik

Tears | by Hazel Benhura

The Legacy of Color | by Lara Rathod

Dark Child | by Kishara Griffin

Just a Preference | by Grace Reid and Maya Williams

Boy,

Knock Out | by Naila Buckner

De Aqui y De Alla (From Here and From There) | by Citlaly Quiroz

CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYONE ^-^

Purchase the 2022 Colorism Writing Contest Anthology NOW!