Sam I like most of your posts but this one is far off. Yes, there is a color class system among the black race but it dates back well over 100 years. Basically, there are three shades: light, brown, and dark. The main problem is the gray area of brown skin. For instance, I would say that everyone you mentioned as "dark skinned" (Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige) are all brown skin while someone of Ray-J and Fantasia's complexion is dark-skin.