Nobody is going to tell 10-year-old Kheris Rogers (@Kherispoppin) that her black isn’t beautiful. After being bullied for her flawlessly radiant and deeply hued skin tone, the 10-year-old mini mogul clapped back by creating a t-shirt line boasting the ingenious phrase, Flexing In My Complexion.
Kheris first made headlines back in March after photos posted to Twitter by her older sister Taylor went viral. The photos showed Kheris absolutely seeerving up a fierce, melanin popping pose alongside a casual aloof stance– both inherently flawless.
After amassing tens of thousands of likes and retweets, Taylor showed her baby sister the hugely positive comments referring to her as “beautiful” and calling her skin “gorgeous.”
The comments embedded a new confidence in young Kheris, who not too long ago, had transferred schools because of the immense bullying.
“She started to notice she was different,” Taylor told BuzzFeed News. “She would cry a lot, and talk about how she doesn’t like her skin tone.”
After social media support helped her see her innate loveliness, Kheris and big sister Taylor decided to flaunt the Flexing In My Complexion phrase on t-shirts for all of us worldwide to enjoy.
“She was obsessed with the comments,” Taylor said. “So many people’s comments gave her a positive outlook on her skin. It gave her reassurance.”
Reassurance can often be necessary for those within ethnic communities who know all-too-well the complexities that lie within colorism. In basically all communities of colour, lighter complexions have been historically deemed “better,” wrongfully downplaying the radiance of dark skin.
With ambitious and optimistic youth acting as the face of positive change for not only tolerance, but praise of individualism, we can all feel one stop closer to rectifying sad, sad views that falsely claim black is not beautiful.
You can support Kheris and her family’s work in promoting diversity in beauty by copping your Flexing In My Complexion t-shirt here. You can also follow Kheris on Twitter and Instagram, as she is sure to be a stand out character in the years to come.
Source: Konbini