Keke Palmer has grown into such a beautiful young woman, so it's sad to hear that there was a time when the actress didn't know how to appreciate her darker skin because of how others would admire lighter skin instead. During her appearance at the Hollywood Confidential Panel in Los Angeles, Palmer revealed that she used to hope for lighter skin so she would be beautiful, too.
"When I was like 5 years old I used to pray to have light skin because I would always hear how pretty that little light skin girl was, or I would hear I was pretty to be dark skin. It wasn't until I was 13 that I really learned to appreciate my skin color and know that I was beautiful," she said.
A year ago, Palmer was accused of bleaching her skin just because she appeared lighter in a photo she posted. She was quick to shut down the accusations saying, "We need to stop separating ourselves by how dark or how light we are. I have been the same complexion all my life and if you think otherwise don’t follow me."
Kimberly Elise was also on hand at the panel discussion to add that not only do African-Americans need to appreciate the entire color spectrum, but Hollywood as well, saying that she doesn't want to change for any acting role.
What do you think about the Black community's long-standing issues with colorism? Tell us in the comments.
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 (Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images for HBO)