1 An Analysis of Colorism and it’s Effects Within the Black Community Ayanna M. Raulston Agnes Scott College AS 170: Africana Studies Dr. Yvonne Newsome December 01, 2020 2 ABSTRACT In this paper I will analyze and evaluate “colorism” in African American culture and the effect of it. Colorism is a controversial term; it is also a fairly new term. Colorism has been historically referred to as “colorphobia” or “colorstruck”. This new term was believed to be coined in 1982 by Alice Walker. Before her, the topic was highly ignored and deemed insignificant. Colorism is essentially discrimination based on skin color especially within a certain race or ethnic group, usually favoring those with lighter skin over darker skin. In this paper I would like to bring this undermined issue to light through research. My research questions include: “Why do black people discriminate amongst themselves?”, “How do black people treat one another of different shades and why?”, and “What is the difference between racism and colorism?”. I am going to reveal the roots of colorism. I will also analyze and discuss the difference between colorism practiced by white power structures (i.e. courts, schools, and businesses) and it being practiced within the black community. Last but not least, I will research why this topic that damages our own people is rarely talked about. 3 An Analysis of Colorism and it’s Effects Within the Black Community Within the African American community and various communities of color, people are discriminated against and are given fewer opportunities simply because of their “race.” However, people of color with darker skin are even more oppressed. This term is referred to as colorism. Colorism affects the attitudes people of color have on life and one another. In this paper, I will argue that there is an evident correlation between skin color and socioeconomic status, marital status, and black self-esteem/pride. Colorism causes a divide between people within the same community. This paper will examine the roots of colorism and how it influences the lives of people of color. In general, I will display how colorism started and how it shapes society today. I will analyze colorism practiced by white power structures in relation to how it occurs in the black community. I will also discuss the correlation between racism and colorism. REVIEW OF LITERATURE While researching past literature and studies, many plausible claims surfaced. One piece of literature argued that colorism dates back to slavery when slave masters would grant their illegitimate off-springs greater opportunities and sometimes even granted them freedom. As a result of this, people mixed with both black and white became a third group. They were not as good as white people, but they were treated better than slaves and black people. All African Americans faced racial oppression to some degree, but free and lighter skinned negroes managed to establish and sustain their own institutions that essentially contained lighter skinned people. This caused lighter skinned individuals to secure high positions in the African American community. This plays a role in the way African Americans of all colors perceive themselves 4 and one another. (Frazier 1957; Freeman et al. 1966; Berlin 1975; Williamson 1980; Hughes and Hertel 1990). The next important piece of literature argued that there is a correlation between skin tone, life chances, and the outlook on life of black americans. They also argued that the correlation between skin color and privilege appeared at the end of slavery (Keith, Verna and Cedric et al. 1991.) However, I would like to disagree with this claim. Lighter skinned slaves were granted more preferential jobs more often than darker slaves. This caused jealousy and division long before the end of slavery. Europeans thought it through very carefully; they delegated certain jobs and tasks for different slaves solely based on the region of Africa they were from (Holloway, 1990). Colorism displays itself differently in white power structures in comparison to its presence in the black community. White power structures infused the ideals of whiteness amounting to inherent power. White institutions gave more opportunities to lighter skinned people of color. Lighter skinned black people were more likely to receive a job advancement and obtain higher levels of education (Hughes and Herterl, 1990). Since white people gave these opportunities to a select few, it caused a divide within the black community both socially and economically. All of the literature agrees that there is a correlation between skin color, life chances, and black Americans' outlook on life. In general, studies show that people with darker skin tones had more black pride, experienced more discrimination, and had more negative attitudes toward white people. The same studies show that for light skin people, the results are inverted. Light skin black people usually have less black pride, experience less discrimination, and have the least amount of negative views toward white people (Hughes and Hertel, 1990). Dark skin people are 5 also viewed as the most hostile of black people (Hughes and Hertel. 1990) . It is evident that all black people are generalized, but those with darker skin are categorized even more. Given all the unequal opportunities between those in the same community, a divide is inevitable. Things become a race and one side begins blaming the other when the entire construct was not caused by either of them. ANALYSIS To begin discussing colorism and skin tone, we must first talk about race. My initial claim is that race and skin tone are both social constructs, a concept supported by Africana Studies. They are only important because Europeans initially gave them importance. Scientific literature supports this claim. Many scientists agree that biological races do not exist. There aren’t any genetic characteristics exclusive to one race. Skin color is one device to assign people to a racial category. The social meaning afforded to skin color is what results in differential treatment (Jones, 2000). Needless to say, racism and colorism are not identical concepts. Racism is a system and ideology of racial domination and exploitation that (a) incorporates attitudes in a particular race's cultural and/or biological inferiority and (b) uses these beliefs to vindicate and permit inferior or unequal treatment for that group (Marcuse, 1987). Racism embodies dual characteristics. It is both institutional and attitudinal. In other words, it combines structural and ideological components that generate privilege and oppression. However, colorism describes the system that privileges lighter skinned individuals over dark skin people within a community of color. These concepts are interconnected. Without racism there would likely be no colorism (Hunter, 2002). 6 Colorism relies on the privileging of whiteness in terms of phenotype, aesthetics, and culture. However, they are defined differently. Colorism is an ideological concept that was built into society, so now people usually subconsciously think colorist thoughts or make colorist decisions without knowing. This is not the case with racism. Racism was organized down to every factor. All people can be colorist but not racist because racism is a system of power that privileges and is controlled by white people as a group. According to research, people in Africa, Europe, and Asia were already “mixing” well before Columbus discovered the Americas (Jones, 2000). But, the idea of discrimination and skin color specifically didn’t rise until slavery in the Americas. During slavery in the upper south, many white indentured servitudes would get together and produce “mullatoes” or interracial offsprings. In the lower south, the slave masters and overseers had sexual access to black slave women. As a result, there was a plethora of racial mixing. In the upper south, biracials were seen as threats, so statues against miscegenation developed. However, it was the opposite in the lower south. In the lower south, biracials were often the children of wealthy white plantation owners. They received a plethora of benefits due to this. For example, their fathers would grant them freedom and they would teach them skills and trades. In the lower south, especially places like Louisiana, lighter skinned individuals lived very similar to some of the wealthy white people. The presence of british white people in the Americas, such as Louisiana, also influenced the better treatment of mulattoes. Where they were from, mulattoes had already been established as superior to black people. To get to the point, in the lower south, biracial people were put into a third category. The amount of labor needed in the lower south caused black people to outnumber white people, so they used the biracial people as an in between person to keep peace. They also used them to control the black slaves (Jones, 2020). This established a three tier hierarchy. Since 7 states in the lower south established this three tier hierarchy, they could not determine status by blood. As a result, they had to determine status by skin color. In South Carolina, if you were a free biracial who acted “proper,” they would give you the chance to apply for legal status to be white. In Louisiana, biracial people would also be determined by skin color. This developed a trend coined “the mulatto” hypothesis, which is the theory that light skinned blacks were intellectually superior because of their white blood. This was a substantive ideology within the white community (Jones, 2000). The privileged treatment received by some biracial people inevitably caused discourse between the black and biracial people. It is now easy to see how colorism developed. At the beginning of the Civil War, white people found it extremly difficult to justify slavery once the biracial population grew tremendously. As a result, the privileged treatment towards biracial people dwindled. Subsequently, white people reverted back to a two class society and began using the one-drop rule (Jones, 2020). This was the beginning of the Jim Crow Era. The root of colorism is now made clear. Now that we understand how and why colorism developed, we must move on to discuss the effects of it. Not only does colorism negatively affect darker skinned people disproportionately, it also affects women of this skin tone even more. Colorism affects beauty ideals, partner selection, social and socioeconomic status (Matthew and Johnson, 2015). Throughout my research the correlation between skin color and socioeconomic status was very strong. It is evident that positive characteristics and traits are attributed to those with lighter skin while those with darker complexions are often placed in stereotypical categories and judged severely by their physical appearance (Matthew and Johnson, 2015). In the African American community there are a plethora of skin shades; some are deemed acceptable and some are not. 8 Beauty is determined by society and those around us. So in essence, beauty is determined by the standards we give. If white women were the set standard of beauty for so long you can only imagine what that does to the self esteem of a darker complected woman. For example, we can look at many of the current women in the music industry; I frequently observe people insulting women with darker complections like JT and Megan Thee Stallion on social media because of their wide mouths or big noses, but they don’t do the same to the lighter skin women like Cardi B and Mulatto who carry the same facial features. Malcolm X’s famous quote about how we perceive the natural features God gave us really makes you ponder. In the speech he said "Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet? Who taught you to hate your own kind? Who taught you to hate the race that you belong to so much so that you don't want to be around each other?.." I would not blame this issue on the black community initially because we only know what we are taught, but as they become more aware they must stop falling into every game and trap the white man has set. Physicality in our society is deemed very important. Lighter skin is desirable and an indication of beauty, so this feature alone can elevate people, specifically women both socially and politically because it has been believed to be superior. Skin color is a social capital for African American women. Social capital refers to the internal social and cultural coherence of a society (i.e. social status, reputation, and social networks). This can easily tie in to economic and educational advancement. Due to light complexions being socially constructed to define beauty, women who possess this feature benefit from the already elevated social capital (Matthew and Johnson, 2015). On this basis thereof, you can imagine how this negatively affects the women 9 who don’t have this feature. If lighter skin grants you the opportunity to advance educationally and financially, are women with darker skin always going to be at the bottom of the chain? This is an awful effect of colorism. There was a survey conducted at Southern University amongst black young adult women in an effort to compare social capital to their skin complexion, self-esteem, and involvement. The hypotheses in the survey were: women with darker skin would have lower social capital than light skin women based on friendship, relationship status, involvement, and GPA; women with lighter complexions would have higher levels of self esteem compared to darker complected women; the last hypothesis claimed that women of medium skin tone would be perceived more favorable than those who had darker skin tone (Matthew and Johnson, 2015.) The survey didn’t strongly prove any of the hypotheses, but it did give evidence to believe that colorism is still a great problem amongst women of the African American community in the 21st century. CONCLUSION Through research, I have discovered the root of colorism. I believe that there may have been color discrimination before slavery in various parts of the world, but for African Americans, I believe the cause is slavery and the divide white people caused. It is now evident that the hostility amongst black people of different shades dates back to slavery. I would not say black people of different shades hate one another, but there is inevitably subconscious bias or prejudice that holds us back from being united. Black people just view one another different and are divided as a people due to colorism. However, white people essentially make or break the race because they prefer lighter skinned individuals over darker complected ones. This is a significant issue because it affects African Americans socially and economically. Due to this 10 issue we have many women with lower self esteems, and we also have a great number of people with lower socioeconomic statuses because of the shade of their skin. Since skin shade determines a lot for African Americans behind the scenes, it in turn affects every part of their life. 11 References Hughes, M., & Hertel, B. (1990). The Significance of Color Remains: A Study of Life Chances, Mate Selection, and Ethnic Consciousness among Black Americans. Social Forces, 68(4), 1105-1120. doi:10.2307/2579136 Hunter, Margaret, Walter R. Alllen, and Edward E. Telles. 2001. “The Significance of Skin Color among African Americans and Mexican Americans.” African American Research Perspectives 7: 173-184. Hunter, M. (2002). "If You're Light You're Alright": Light Skin Color as Social Capital for Women of Color. Gender and Society, 16(2), 175-193. 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