The Question Light-Skinned Black Women Say They're Always Asked

It's the question many light-skinned black women say they're always asked. "There's a safety in being able to categorize you, or categorize a person," says actress Tatyana Ali. "You can assign all of your preconceived ideas about who this person is: the type of person they are, what kind of behavior you can expect from them—only if you know what they are."

Actress Angelique Francis says she's bombarded with this question often, and her reply is simple: "African-American. I don't discuss it. I'm not one to talk about, oh, my grandmother and my grandfather—I don't do that."

Journalist Soledad O'Brien says she was shopping for a new coat when a sales person asked her, "What are you?" When Soledad told her she's black, the sales person refused to believe her. Watch what she said next that made Soledad immediately put her purchase back on the rack.

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