I'm half black but have been told I'm "white passing" so fortunately I've not encountered much racism or felt my race was ever a barrier in getting jobs, dating, etc..
My cousins who are fully black moved to Ireland and England and while things have been generally good, they have had several bad experiences with people treating them differently based on their skin colour.
Nearly all of them have been subjected to racial slurs and a few say that people in public places (when out in a nightclub, party, social gathering) would ignore them and be more likely to approach their white friends. They also say that they've applied for the same jobs as their white friends and been called back for far fewer of them.
My female cousin who is the same age (in her mid 20s) started lightening her skin when she was 20. She's in her mid-20s now and looks totally different. At first everyone around her was shocked but accepted it was her body. According to her, the difference in how she's been treated has been day and night. She's far more approachable to people (both guys interested in dating her as well as random people asking for directions). She's also gotten far more calls for jobs in her acting agency after she updated her profile photos of her lighter skinned.
I know the topic of skin lightening/bleaching is very taboo and while it can be harmful, I just don't see why it's considered more shameful than people undergoing dangerous plastic surgery to become more desirable.
I think people should "hate the game and not the player" when it comes to skin bleaching (i.e. the society that pressures people to lighten their skin as opposed to the people wanting to be more accepted).