A photo posted by Lil' Kim (@lilkimthequeenbee) on
Shortly after the picture was posted Twitter was full of fans commenting about the rappers new look. While many people had jokes, others pointed out that there were other factors to consider when talking about Lil Kim’s new look like colorism and eurocentric beauty standards.
In a 2000 Newsweek interview, Kim talked about her issues with self-esteem and how the men in her life have treated her. “All my life men have told me I wasn’t pretty enough–even the men I was dating. And I’d be like, ‘Well, why are you with me, then?’ ” She winces. “It’s always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I’m cute, I can’t see it. I don’t see it no matter what anybody says.”
Adding, “I have low self-esteem and I always have. Guys always cheated on me with women who were European-looking. You know, the long-hair type. Really beautiful women that left me thinking, ‘How I can I compete with that?’ Being a regular black girl wasn’t good enough.”
You don’t need to dive deep to see how colorism and the way men in her life valued European features may have influenced her.
Colorism is an issue people often ignore until they’re forced to acknowledge it, but many dark-skinned women battle it daily. You can be shocked by Lil Kim’s new look, you can make jokes, but we all need to seriously take time to think about how women with darker skin are regularly considered less than and overlooked.
The Trump administration has given schools and universities across the country just two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal funding. In a memo issued Friday, the U.S. Department of Education ordered institutions to stop using “racial preferences” in admissions, financial aid, hiring, or any other areas. Schools have 14 days to eliminate any practice that considers race as a factor, a move that could dramatically reshape campus life.
Educators across the country are scrambling to assess their risk, weighing whether to fight for policies they believe are legally sound. The sweeping directive could upend everything from college application essays to faculty hiring and student organizations.
The memo frames the crackdown as an effort to combat discrimination.“With this guidance, the Trump Administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities—a victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor.
“Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for ‘diversity’ or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race. No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment, and character—not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Trainor added.
The backlash from civil rights groups and higher education leaders was swift. Many argue the vague language is designed to have a chilling effect, pressuring schools to abandon any programs touching on race—even those that could hold up in court.
“Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law,” Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents told the Associated Press.
The directive builds on Trump’s previous executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and cites the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious college admissions.“Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate nor segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race,” the memo states.
The Education Department is also slashing $600 million in grants for teacher training programs that promote concepts like DEI, critical race theory and social justice activism, calling them “divisive.”
Uncertainty over how far this anti-DEI order will reach was evident during last week’s confirmation hearing for education secretary nominee Linda McMahon. When asked whether courses on African American history would violate the president’s order, McMahon admitted she wasn’t sure.
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Despite the pressure, some education leaders are urging schools not to overreact. The School Superintendents Association has reminded members that the new guidance is not legally binding, and any funding cuts would require lengthy investigations.
“We’re not certain a district should do anything beyond reading the guidance, talking to their legal counsel, and gauging community interest in keeping existing programs,” said Sasha Pudelski, the group’s director of advocacy.
At the heart of the memo is a direct challenge to college admissions policies. The guidance warns that schools cannot use essays as a way to infer an applicant’s race—a key concern since the Supreme Court’s ruling left room for students to discuss race in personal statements. Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged this possibility but cautioned that colleges could not use essays as a loophole to achieve racial diversity.
The memo also targets schools that have eliminated standardized testing requirements. It argues that dropping SAT and ACT requirements to increase racial diversity is unlawful, even though many universities have moved away from standardized tests over concerns that they favor wealthy students.
Longstanding practices—such as recruiting in underrepresented areas or obtaining lists of potential students based on academic and demographic factors—could now be seen as legal risks. Scholarships for students of specific racial backgrounds are also under scrutiny. While legal experts continue to debate whether the Supreme Court’s decision extends to financial aid, some institutions have already removed racial criteria from certain scholarships.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is working to understand the memo’s implications. “The last thing students need when making plans about how to pay for college is uncertainty over when or whether they will receive financial aid they’ve been relying on,” the group said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Trump has called for eliminating the Education Department altogether, and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already slashed dozens of federal contracts it deemed wasteful.