THRIVING Melanin Family Magazine September 2018 | Page 51

THE MELANIN MAN
MELANIN MAN THOUGHTS
HIP-HOP AND
THE MELANIN
COLLECTIVE
YOU ALL IN, OR
NAH?
By Tamon "The Complete Gentleman" Pearson
It's a funny time to be a black man.
Right now, we aren't trusted in general.
Between #MeToo and #TimesUp, many of us
are being seen as the enemy. The silences that
women have lived under due to sexual assault
and molestation are being broken, and the
entire world is shifting. But that's a relatively
new issue. For us as black men, the heads of
Black families, there are older issues looming
above, and the ramifications are just as far-
reaching.
Recently, photos of model and radio
personality London Charles--also known as
Deelishis, from Flavor of Love--revealed what
appears to be dramatic plastic surgery. She
appears lighter in complexion, and her
features look more the prototypical light-
skinned so-called mixed girl; than the
powerfully African-American features that she
had on reality television. 
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2018 • THRIVE | 49