When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us a little differently. Depending on skin color, it will take only minutes of exposure to turn one person beetroot-pink, while another requires hours to experience the slightest change. So what’s to account for that difference and how did our skin come to take on so many different hues to begin with? Whatever the color, our skin tells an epic tale of human intrepidness and adaptability, revealing its variance to be a function of biology. It all centers around melanin, the pigment that gives skin and hair its color.
The type and amount of melanin in your skin determines whether you’ll be more or less protected from the sun. This comes down to the skin’s response as sunlight strikes it. Over the course of generations, humans living at the Sun-saturated latitudes in Africa adapted to have a higher melanin production threshold and more eumelanin, giving skin a darker tone. This built-in sun shield helped protect them from melanoma, likely making them evolutionarily fitter and capable of passing this useful trait on to new generations.
But soon, some of our Sun-adapted ancestors migrated northward out of the tropical zone, spreading far and wide across the Earth. The further north they traveled, the less direct sunshine they saw. This was a problem because although UV light can damage skin, it also has an important parallel benefit. UV helps our bodies produce vitamin D, an ingredient that strengthens bones and lets us absorb vital minerals, like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc. Without it, humans experience serious fatigue and weakened bones that can cause a condition known as rickets. For humans whose dark skin effectively blocked whatever sunlight there was, vitamin D deficiency would have posed a serious threat in the north. But some of them happened to produce less melanin. They were exposed to small enough amounts of light that melanoma was less likely, and their lighter skin better absorbed the UV light. So they benefited from vitamin D, developed strong bones, and survived well enough to produce healthy offspring.
Over many generations of selection, skin color in those regions gradually lightened. As a result of our ancestor’s adaptability, today the planet is full of people with a vast palate of skin colors, typically, darker eumelanin-rich skin in the hot, sunny band around the Equator, and increasingly lighter pheomelanin-rich skin shades fanning outwards as the sunshine dwindles. Therefore, skin color is little more than an adaptive trait for living on a rock that orbits the Sun. It may absorb light, but it certainly does not reflect character.
I have hesitated to make comment on the turmoil that has rocked this country for the last (200 years) few months. My hesitation comes because I recognize my privilege: I am a white natural born citizen of this country - I am female, but I am still inherently more favored by society than my female counterparts of color.
I have never had a decision made about my person based on the color of my skin, or the neighborhood I lived in. I have never had to second guess what I’m putting on in the morning because I might be repping a gang that is known to target my people. I have never had to panic as i got pulled over by a cop, because every single time I’ve been pulled over, I knew full well I was going 10 miles over the speed limit.
I have never fought in a war for this country, only to return and see that I’m treated as a 2nd class citizen, spit at because the hue of my skin is darker than the lily white of the person so infuriated with my existence.
I have never had to look around a room and feel alone because I am the only Chicano, or African-American, or Muslim-American or (insert ethnicity)-Amerian there. I have never had to feel the guilt of moving forward and out of my negative circumcanstances, while the rest of my people struggle to survive - SURVIVE - in the projects down the street.
Representation Matters. Young people of color need to see strong successful people of color fighting for them. Equality matters. It is not enough to simply say that things need to change - action needs to be taken.
So if Colin Kaepernick, the entire Seattle Seahawks, Mr. Smith from down the street, or any other person feels the need and is FINALLY EMPOWERED to express their absolutely justified desire for representation, equality, social justice, and freedom, recognition of their BASIC HUMAN DIGNITY - even if that means calling out the hypocrisy of our national anthem - then so be it. Because Black Lives Matter.
I think I figured out the chords to Under the Manhattan Moon from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. They might not be exactly right. I just did this by ear. Hope u enjoy
Who doesn’t love a class clown? That perfectly timed joke about the ancient Greek poet looking nothing like Homer Simpson is fun for everyone. Unless you’re the teacher … trying to teach a lesson about the Odyssey.
As a teacher, the class clown is often your nemesis. I know this from experience: I taught ninth grade last school year.
They derail lessons, steal the spotlight and, to make matters worse, sometimes they’re actually funny. It’s not easy enforcing class rules when you’re laughing.
What if we looked at class clowns differently? What if, instead of seeing them as a nuisance, we saw them as gifted? A little misguided, sure, but still gifted.
I am very close with three staff members at my school. Two are teachers and one is a school counselor. The teacher that I am closest with is always there to listen to what I need to talk about. When I first came out, I was having a very rough life. I went to her classroom after school and told her everything. She gave me hug and talked to me for hours. Her classroom is my safe space in the school. Whenever I need someone to talk to she is there for me. She has helped me by introducing me to other LGBT youth, including her son and her son’s friend. She is always looking for ways to improve the environment for LGBT youth in our school. It’s hard to express exactly how much she has done for me.
17, Iowa, US, Lesbian, Female
#LGBTQ+ youth, how have you found support and resources? We’d like to know how we can be more helpful to you. Please share your stories here: http://svy.mk/1Pahq6O. You can also find our supportive community of LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.org.
My health teacher this year has really made me feel accepted. We had to write a paragraph in the beginning of the trimester about some tough times and how we got through them. I wrote about going through the process of finding my sexual orientation and coming out, being depressed, committing self-harm, and having anxiety about coming out. One day she pulled me aside after class and told me how proud she was of me and that she’ll always be there for me.
13, Washington, US,
Pansexual, Questioning
#LGBTQ+ youth, how have you found support and resources? We’d like to know how we can be more helpful to you. Please share your stories here:http://svy.mk/1Pahq6O. You can also find our supportive community of LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.org.
