My nephew once said to me "auntie you are so dark!" then he looked himself in the mirror and said, "i'm okay" I was shocked, He was only seven, i was so shocked that I couldn't even say anything that would help the situation of him being conditioned. I'm african and It's very real where I'm from. But in my particular tribe , dark in considered beautiful and if you are light you are considered a bushman which is a big insult.
However recently, after the white folks came along, light was looked upon much more favorably. And my tribespeople who have been exosed to the modern world now think that light is beautiful. and black is not so [retty anymore, but thank God those are a minority.