![Six panel colour comic strip in a grid of 3 panels wide by 2 panels high.
The first panel shows three Black teenage boys with varying skin tones standing outdoors. Two boys are posing for a photo and smiling. The first boy, with a skin tone that's darker than the others, is wearing a grey tracksuit and is making a peace sign with his fingers. His other arm rests around the shoulders of the second boy, who is wearing a red shirt. The third boy, wearing a beige t-shirt, is taking the photo on his phone. A speech bubble comes from his mouth and reads “Ready? Three, two, one…”
The second panel shows the same characters. The boy in the beige t-shirt, after reviewing the photo, points at the boy in the grey tracksuit and says, “Ha! you’re so dark, you kind of look like a creepy shadow in this picture-”. The boy in the red shirt is laughing in agreement, but the boy in the grey tracksuit looks hurt.
The third panel shows the same three boys, but a Black woman dressed in a bright dress with fairy wings has appeared next to them. She is holding a wand and wearing colourful makeup. The three boys look up in awe as fairy dust falls on their heads from the wand. A speech bubble from the fairy reads “Is that colourism I hear?!”
The fourth panel shows the fairy gesturing towards four hands that have appeared in a thought bubble. The hands all have a different skin tone. The three boys are facing the thought bubble. A speech bubble from the fairy reads “Colourism is discrimination against people with dark skin tones, mainly within the same ethnic or racial group.”
The fifth panel shows the fairy with one arm around the boy in the grey tracksuit and one arm around the boy in the beige t-shirt, at whom she is looking. The boy in the red t-shirt is standing beside them. All three boys are looking up at the fairy and listening attentively as she says, “No matter how funny the joke is and no matter what race or ethnicity you are, colourism isn’t okay.”
The sixth panel shows the fairy waving her wand over the boy in the grey tracksuit. He is covered in fairy dust from the wand and is looking up and smiling. A speech bubble from the smiling fairy reads “Dark skin is beautiful and deserves the same respect and visibility as all other shades of brown.”](https://images.prismic.io/wellcomecollection/d3f6225d-2481-4820-8b75-5b194a99ffaf_I+am+not+a+shadow.jpg?w=1338&auto=compress%2Cformat&rect=&q=100)
I am not a shadow. © Sarah Akinterinwa for Wellcome Collection.
About the artist
Sarah Akinterinwa
Sarah Akinterinwa is a Nigerian-British cartoonist and illustrator who regularly contributes to the New Yorker Magazine, and has been featured in the LA Times and the Guardian. She creates humorous cartoons and comics about life, love, and anything that inspires her.