Tim Kaine answered Chris Wallace that “the context” made it clear that Reed was saying something positive. I hadn’t read the full excerpt before , but the context is what is damning. I’ve had black people describe other blacks to me as “light-skinned” as an identification , like “has freckles,” not racial at all as far as I’m concerned. But Reed’s comments were in the context of whether America was ready to elect a black man President, yes if he were “light-skinned” rather than dark skinned, and didn’t speak in “Negro dialect” except when he wanted to.
Yup, he's gonna' be supportive of Reid because he really doesn't hear the problem ~ which is really, really bad!
“and didn’t speak in “Negro dialect” except when he wanted to.”
That could describe Hillary too.
>>I’ve had black people describe other blacks to me as “light-skinned” as an identification, like “has freckles,” not racial at all as far as I’m concerned.<<
I’ve had the perception, actually, that (some) black people regard lighter skin as a status symbol. For instance I have a black co-worker who, when trying to paint a positive picture of someone she’s describing to me, will stress, “...and she’s a VERY light-skinned black lady.” As puzzling as it is to me (I mean, what do I care about the lady’s exact skin tone?) I’ve now heard enough examples of this to think it’s a fairly ingrained concept in black communities. I also gather it’s a sensitive enough topic that many blacks would bristle at hearing a white guy imply that light skin is a virtue.