Here it is cultural, black people are seen as dirty and poor, the rich do not have to get out in the sun, in movies the bad guy/girl is always played by a dark-skinned person so you get fed this view constantly.
You can not believe how hard it is to find deodorant, body lotion, facial creams, etc. without skin whitening chemicals. I do my best to avoid that as I have a hard time believing that it can be good for you.