Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles, thought her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson was white when he met her.
Speaking with EBONY, the singer’s father and former manager discussed his new book, Racism: From The Eyes Of A Child, in which he talked about how colourism shaped his thought pattern as a child because his mother wanted him to have nothing to do with black women.
Here’s what he told EBONY:
“When I was growing up, my mother used to say, “Don’t ever bring no nappy-head Black girl to my house.” In the deep South in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message.
I have a chapter in the book that talks about eroticized rage. I talk about going to therapy and sharing – one day I had a breakthrough – that I used to date mainly White women or very high-complexion Black women that looked White. I actually thought when I met Tina, my former wife, that she was white. Later I found out that she wasn’t, and she was actually very much in-tune with her Blackness.
I had been conditioned from childhood. Within eroticized rage, there was actual rage in me as a Black man, and I saw the White female as a way, subconsciously, of getting even or getting back. There are a lot of Black men of my era that are not aware of this thing.”
This has stirred reactions on social media, especially among fans of Beyonce who never hesitate to share their displeasure with Knowles ever since he and the singer’s mother got divorced in 2011. However, some people have varying opinions.
Check out the reactions:
This is a screenshot from Mathew Knowles’ book. I’ve seen sooo many accounts from well know Black men saying they saw white women as a way of “getting back” at the man & the oppression they’re subjected to pic.twitter.com/9ReXTlyqbd
— LaMariposaNegra🦋 (@lexi_kenney) February 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/callmedollar/status/959222243527217153
Mathew Knowles is actually talking a lot of sense here. And it can be related to how people like Amara and dark skin women in general are treated. pic.twitter.com/iI3jyg2UnD
— Queen With The Crowns (@Thatgirldavis) February 1, 2018
Wasn’t there a young lady attacked on here for saying she sees dark skinned dudes with light skinned women a lot in black love. Today Mathew knowles has told y’all Tina’s skin tone was a reason he pursued her pic.twitter.com/oJunAhoI81
— 🇳🇬NaijaGal🇳🇬 (@Naija4LifeO) February 1, 2018
