Beauty vlogger Monica Veloz became familiar with colorism before she could truly understand the concept. The Afro-Latina told HuffPost she still remembers how kids in her bilingual day care in Brooklyn, New York, would say her skin looked like charcoal or tar.

No, your skin is dirty, Veloz, 26, recalls one girl saying after she asked to use her towel. I really didnt understand it. It wasnt even like I went home and cried, at the time I didnt really care. But obviously it struck a nerve because... I can even tell you the color of the shirt she was wearing.

Known on YouTube and Instagram as MonicaStyle Muse , the Dominican social media star says colorism is the story of my life, but Veloz has also made a conscious decision to use her platform to create a narrative of inclusion for Afro-Latinos.

This platform for me has to be more than just me telling you how to beat your face and how to do your hair because theres girls who are younger than me who might have a girl telling her the same thing, Veloz said. And hopefully she can see my video and be like, Well, they used to call Monica charcoal and look at her.