Colorism: Addressing this Issue Carries the Same Weight as Combating Racism
By: Jeanette C. Espinoza
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, Unity, Colorism, Equality, Dark Skin

If you ask a woman from any ethnic group to define racism, it’s likely she will effortlessly provide her own definition. A woman of color may even add a personal account of her experience with this injustice for context. But asking a woman about colorism often garners a quite different response.

During my own journey to understand how other Black women feel about the validity of colorism grievances, I found that it often became an uncomfortable conversation. The more I attempted to encourage the women in my life to have an open, honest dialogue about the effects colorism may have on the psyche of Black women, I was either met with a “this problem is too big to address” attitude or a “things aren’t as bad as they used to be” mentality.

There wasn’t much middle ground during my unofficial research but there was one constant variable: talking about colorism was not a topic of choice. I understand this since the history behind it comes from the most painful, egregious, and oppressive part of our past. But as it is with racism, we will never be able to overcome a condition that we refuse to acknowledge, validate, and subsequently address in unity to rid our communities of this toxic behavior for good.

The Roots of Colorism

The enslavement of Black people in America spawned many horrific and unspeakable tragedies, including the brutal rapes and sexual assaults of Black women at the hands of slave owners. This created children of a lighter hue who were often provided more advantages than slaves of darker complexions and whose coloring served as a determining factor of what jobs they were given on the plantation. To be clear, slavery was not a benevolent institution by any means for Black people regardless of their skin tone. However, White slave owners did use the appearance of children they bore with Black women to create an insidious and mentally destructive division between the Black family.

In the wake of emancipation, the distinction between skin tone continued within our community. Social groups called “blue vein societies” were created and only allowed admittance to those whose skin was light enough to reveal the veins in their arms. Likewise, neighborhoods were established based on skin color to further continue the divisiveness of colorism.

In his book co-authored with Dr. Cornel West entitled The Future of the Race, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. described another component to promote colorism that is believed to have originated in New Orleans. To determine who gained access to certain social functions, a brown paper bag was placed at the front door. Anyone whose skin was darker than the bag was denied access. This became what is now known as the “brown paper bag test” which was used to quantify the privilege of Black people throughout the entire United States based on skin tone.

With each new generation came different strategies to perpetuate the notion that the lighter your skin, the more attractive, intelligent, and worthy you were. This became particularly evident when comparing the experiences of light-skinned Black women to those of dark-skinned women.

The Affect of Colorism in Relationships

Colorism dictates the closer a Black woman’s proximity to Whiteness, the more she is considered to be beautiful, civilized, and virtuous. These attributes give lighter-skinned women a greater advantage in securing romantic relationships with Black men that often lead to marriage.

According to Dr. Margaret Hunter, a professor of sociology at Oakland Mills College who has studied colorism for two decades, “Black women, in general, marry less than other races but darker-skinned Black women marry men of lower social status than the lightest-skinned Black women.”

This is evident when considering the wives of many popular Black male celebrities:

Photo Credit: hollywoodreporter.com/Kevin Hart

Photo Credit: Ebony.com/Martin Lawrence

Photo Credit: globalnews.ca/Idris Elba

Photo Credit: Essence.com/Morris Chestnut

Certainly, there are some celebrities who have chosen wives of a darker hue (Denzel Washington and Samuel Jackson to name a few), but a simple Google search reveals that the majority have chosen women whose hues are actually quite in contrast to their own. Because these men are so visible, it sends a powerful message to the world that the more accomplished, successful, and wealthy you are, the more likely you are to select a woman whose features are more European than Afrocentric.

The Affects of Colorism in the World at Large

In a study conducted by Michael Hughes and Bradley Hertel of Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, their research concluded that in relation to education and employment opportunities “dark-skinned Black people suffer much the same disadvantage relative to light-skinned Black people that Black people, in general, suffer relative to White people” (Hughes & Hertel, 1990).

Dr. Robert L. Reece, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas concluded after researching the intersectionality of skin tone and gender equality: “In addition to wages and income, relative to darker-skinned black Americans, lighter-skinned black Americans have been shown to enjoy better mental and physical health, experience fewer negative encounters with the criminal justice system, are punished less and less harshly in schools, and are viewed as more attractive” (Reese, 2020).

In Mexico, a study conducted by the National Council to Prevent Discrimination found that 20% of people in the country did not feel comfortable with their skin color and 55% acknowledged discrimination of Mexicans with a darker brown skin tone.

In Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, skin bleaching products have become a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, and Proctor & Gamble market products to lighten skin by promising a “fair” “lighter” and “whiter” appearance.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, some of these major companies that rushed to show support for combatting systemic racism ironically began to experience backlash for their practice of distributing products that promote colorism and discrimination.

Why We Must Address the Damage Caused by Colorism

While this country is attempting to discuss the inequities and injustices suffered by Black people, we must come together as a family and fix our own house from the inside out. Dissolving a racist system without acknowledging the part that colorism plays in the destruction of our communities leaves us in the same condition we are all working so hard to abolish.

As difficult as it may be for us to look colorism in the eye, we must face this beast and conquer it once and for all. If we tackle this with the same fervor we expel when fighting against racial injustice, we will have an excellent chance of making good progress. But first, everyone in our community needs to bear witness that colorism is indeed real, is indeed damaging to our self-esteem, and is indeed a cruel and inhumane practice carried over from slavery that is long overdue to be put to rest for GOOD.

Signs That You Might Be a Colorist

What is a colorist? A colorist is a person that uses colorism to make life decisions such as who to date, who to associate with, who to befriend in the workplace, who is considered more attractive, and who is regarded with the highest esteem. As Black people, looking within to determine if you are a perpetrator of colorism in our community is akin to a White person soul-searching to confirm if they have racist tendencies. It will be difficult and painful, particularly if you find that colorism does exist within your mindset or in your own family, but like racism, it must be confronted and dealt with if we are ever going to put it behind us.

Here are five general signs that you may unknowingly be a colorist (Note — the following statements were created by the author based solely on life experience and in no way give the complete picture of a colorist. They only represent basic guidelines as a quick point of reference and do not have the benefit of professional research to provide statistics):

You have made statements like, “I only date light-skinned men/women.”

You subscribe to the “I can’t stay in the sun too long because I’ll get too dark” thought process.

You find Black people of a lighter skin tone to be more attractive, more intelligent, and more worthy of your attention than darker-skinned people.

You regard dark-skinned Black women as more aggressive and masculine and light-skinned Black women as more feminine.

You pick relationships based on the skin tone of your partner to avoid having children that are “too dark.”

What You Can Do If You Believe You Have Colorist Tendencies

As an adult, changing your mindset is definitely not an overnight process. If you feel as though you’ve been subconsciously practicing colorism, it will require you to do the work of unlearning your current way of thinking.

Using the feelings we have about racism is a helpful way to start your own internal process. In the same way that we as Black people think it’s ridiculous to be judged and pigeonholed simply because of the color of our skin, imagine how ridiculous it is to determine someone’s worth based on the shade of their skin. Really, there is no difference. If you are discounting people simply because they are of a darker hue without any knowledge of who they are as a person, this is the same behavior practiced by White supremacists. We are all Black people and not one of us is better, prettier, smarter, more reliable, more trustworthy, or more worthy PERIOD than any other person simply because of the skin tone we were born with.

My Personal Experience With Colorism

I grew up in California with a very large and loving immediate and extended family. With the exception of a few cousins, the majority of my family have rich, dark skin tones. Since I was always surrounded by people who never took issue with my dark brown complexion, I didn’t realize the effect of colorism until I went to middle school. That was the first time a guy who asked me out told me,

“You are so pretty for a dark-skinned girl.”

I still remember his big goofy grin after saying that, like I was supposed to go weak in the knees or something. He was not ready for the earful he got after I told him that was not a compliment, that I was highly offended, and no we would not be going anywhere together. I left him standing in the hall confused, but trying to explain my feelings to him wasn’t high on my priority list. The fact that he thought he needed to bring up my skin tone at all since we were both Black people left me feeling something I’d never experienced with my own people: a feeling of not being enough.

At 13-years-old, I began to question everything around me. What did he mean “for a dark-skinned girl?” Even though he said I was pretty, does that mean other boys wouldn’t find me attractive because I was dark? And why was darker considered “less than”?

I remember talking to my close friends about it and how our conversations helped me make the connection that I had been a victim of colorism much longer than I’d realized. My best friend pointed out how all the light-skinned girls with long hair and lighter eyes had boyfriends or were being pursued, while the rest of us with darker hues often sat together in groups during lunch without much attention from the boys. I was having so much fun laughing and joking with my friends that I hadn’t noticed the disparity in our level of attractiveness compared to our lighter-skinned counterparts.

High school and college only served to further confirm the existence of colorism practiced by the male population, but it was when I became a mother that this reality hit home more than ever before.

My ex-husband is Mexican-American, so my two children are of mixed-parentage. They both have much lighter complexions than I and from the time they were born through their grade school years, I was confronted with comments from strangers like, “Oh, they are so cute! Are they your children?” or “Oh, they have GOOD hair! I know you are glad those curls didn’t turn to naps!” and “Girl, keep those babies out of the sun so they keep that beautiful, bright skin!”

I’ve taught both of my children the importance of respecting and loving all our people without judgment or bias and how to be aware when acts of injustice are committed. Unfortunately, my daughter experienced colorism from the other side of the coin as a light-skinned woman. She told me stories of young men she’d met in college who openly told her they thought she was beautiful because of her light skin and how they would never date a dark-skinned girl. Having a dark-skinned mother, family members, and friends made her feel uncomfortable to hear this, but also more aware of the necessity to educate our people and hopefully help create a more welcoming and all-inclusive environment.

We Can Work Together to Create a Better Future

I’ve found the biggest obstacle to combatting colorism in our own community has been the inability or flat-out refusal to acknowledge it exists at all. Some men have told me that dark-skinned women just have low self-esteem and were jealous of light-skinned women, while some women have said talking about it only creates more division.

Ignoring colorism is just as traumatizing as ignoring racism. It could actually be more problematic because it’s perpetrated by our own family, the Black family. We should be able to come together to receive the love, protection, and acceptance that we aren’t always afforded when we mingle with the general population.

For every little dark-skinned girl or boy who is unable to see a representation of themselves on TV, in magazines, and in advertisements and begins to wonder if they matter and if they are enough, there should be a safe space created for them to receive the validation and recognition that is their birthright.

As we stomp out racism, let’s also devote our efforts to stomp out colorism. Removing this negative thought process will help to raise the self-esteem of those who experience it, and allow all of us to come together in unity. We are always STRONGER TOGETHER.