I wrote the following poem about colorism when I was in junior high, circa 1997. I don’t remember my exact age or the exact time. I do know that this was the first time I’d ever expressed my thoughts about colorism, and It was more than a decade later before I ever tried to speak or write about colorism again.
One of the reasons I wanted to launch the Colorism Poetry Contest is to give people the kind of platform that I would have benefited from. Rather than writing poems and tucking them away in notebooks, never to be shared with anyone, this contest will give people the chance to offer their expressions to the whole world.
What I hope the collection of poetry submissions will show is the diversity of ideas and experiences with colorism, as well as the similarities.
For those who have never attempted to write a poem about colorism, the Colorism Poetry Contest serves as a prompt that can get people to really think about colorism–what it means, how it makes them or others feel, and how it affects individual lives.
The professional, career writer in me could make a thousand revisions and edits to this poem, but I left it as it was originally written, true to who I was at that time. What’s published below is a peak into what’s driven me over the years to eventually dedicate myself to this work.
Everyone has a different opinion about February as Black History Month. Some wonder why it’s necessary, or even if it’s a form of “reverse racism.” Others think it’s very necessary, but poorly executed. While I’ve always been a supporter of celebrating Black History Month, this year I want to discuss colorism and Black History Month.
Colorism Healing through Black History
One way to heal from colorism is to cultivate pride in being people of African descent. Since colorism is the result of white supremacy, it’s necessary for our communities to celebrate black history as a way to reverse the harmful effects that centuries of white supremacy have had on us.
As Malcolm X said shortly before his death in February 1965:
by Ed Ford
As these Europeans dominated the continent of Africa, it was they who created the image of Africa that was projected abroad. And they projected Africa and the people of Africa in a negative image, a hateful image.
Those who oppress know that you can’t make a person hate the root without making them hate the tree. You can’t hate your own and not end up hating yourself. And since we all originated in Africa, you can’t make us hate Africa without making us hate ourselves. And they did this very skillfully. And what was the result?
They ended up with 22 million Black people here in America who hated everything about us that was African. We hated the African characteristics. We hated our hair. We hated our nose, the shape of our nose, and the shape of our lips, the color of our skin. (Malcolm X, 1965)
With those words, Malcolm explains the direct connection to black history and colorism. As long as others are responsible for telling our history, blacks around the world will struggle with the internalized racism that we call colorism.
And the celebration of Black History does have to be explicit, overt, and blatant, just like racism has been for hundreds of years. The white supremacist message has been loud and clear for centuries, and we can’t effectively fight against it simply by being subtle, silent, or scared.
One month out of the year is not enough, however, so we must take the celebration of black culture and black beauty beyond February, and make it an everyday norm in all of our institutions. Yes, schools are important, but so are churches, organizations, teams, clubs, and families.
Colorism as a Potential Blind-Spot in Black History
I also caution us not to assume that celebrating Black History in and of itself heals us from colorism. Typically, Black History month focuses on the accomplishments of black Americans over the years. However, if we’re not careful, we may send the message that light-skinned blacks are the ones who are most accomplished and worthy of celebration.
A wall or book filled mostly with light skinned blacks sends a similar message as a wall or book that doesn’t include blacks. Because lighter skinned blacks are disproportionately represented in politics, education, entertainment, and other fields, it’s easy to compile a list of black figures for your students or children and end up with very few dark-skinned people.
Diversity and inclusiveness require conscious efforts, whether it’s skin color, race, gender, profession, sexuality, or religion.
In fact, discussing this aspect of Black History is a good way to bring up a discussion about colorism. It also shows that focusing merely on race without analyzing the role of skin color can perpetuate group disparities. (I’ll get more into that in another post.)
Questions about Colorism and Black History Month
If you haven’t already been talking about colorism, February, Black History Month, is a great opportunity to start. Here a few questions to get you going.
⇒ Is there disproportionate representation of light or dark skinned blacks during Black History Month? If so, why might that be the case
⇒ Who were/are some of the people who have advocated against colorism or internalized racism among blacks?
⇒ What can we learn from the “black is beautiful” movement that took place during the 1960’s and 70’s?
⇒ How can the study of Black History heal individuals and communities from colorism?
The purpose of this Introduction to Colorism is to help parents, educators, mentors, and counselors facilitate discussions about colorism with young people of all ages.
The following is meant to give youth an introductory glimpse of what colorism is, where it comes from, and how it affects people. This is done primarily through literature and discussion/written responses.
Whether or not they’ve ever heard of the term “colorism,” you will find that many people have observed or experienced acts of colorism at some point in their lives, while others have not. These materials are designed with both sets of audiences in mind.
II. What is Colorism?
Colorism is prejudice toward others because of their skin color or features such as hair texture and eye color. It may also be a dislike for your own skin color and features.
Two people may be the same race and still be treated differently because of how dark or light their skin is.
Colorism is something that happens all across the country and all around the world. There are a few different explanations for why it exists, but most historians say it’s the result of racism during colonialism and slavery.
During slavery in the United States, for example, many Native Americans and Blacks were mixed with white ancestry. Although they were not treated as equal to whites, some people believed that being mixed with more European ancestry made them more acceptable than Native Americans and Blacks who were not mixed.
Since those times, colorism has taken many forms, and people of all colors have been perpetrators and targets.
III. Suggested Readings on Colorism with preliminary questions
A. Elementary
1.Same Difference by Calida Rawles (also in video format via YouTube)
a) How do Lisa and Lida treat each other before they see their differences?
b) How does Lisa and Lida’s grandmother help the girls feel good about their differences?
2. Skin Again by bell hooks
a) What can a person’s skin tell you about who they are?
b) What can a person’s skin NOT tell you about who they are?
3.Nina Bonita by Ana Maria Machado
a) How does the bunny feel about Nina’s black skin?
b) What does this story show us about different skin colors in families?
B. Middle
1. The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
a) How or why does Maleeka develop a dislike for her skin color?
b) What does Miss Saunders teach Maleeka about being comfortable in her own skin?
2.Fall Secrets by Candy Dawson Boyd
a) How does Jessie’s relationship with her sister affect her feelings and actions at school?
b) How does opening up about her secret start to change Jessie’s attitude and feelings about skin color?
C. High
1. Like A Tree Without Roots by Teresa Ann Willis
a) How does history play a role in Jasmine’s attitude about her skin color and features?
b) What steps does Jasmine take on her journey to self-acceptance?
a) According to the poem, what are some of the burdens and privileges of being light- or dark-skinned?
b) How does this poem demonstrate a need for empathy among people of different colors?
3.Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
a) How does colorism impact family dynamics in Maud Martha?
b) How does colorism affect romantic relationships in Maud Martha?
D. College
1.The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman
a) How is skin color tied to class and social status in Blacker the Berry?
b) How does Emma Lou perpetuate colorism toward herself and others in the novel?
2.Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
a) How or why does Stevie learn to appreciate her own skin and hair?
b) What can we learn from this novel about how and why colorism is perpetuated?
IV. Colorism Writing Prompts/Discussion Starters
A. Have you ever heard someone make negative comments about another person’s skin color? If so, what did you hear them say, and how did you feel about it?
B. How is colorism similar to or different from other types of prejudice?
C. Do you think a person’s skin color is really what makes them smart, nice, or beautiful? Why or why not?
V. Next Steps
After you’ve reviewed these materials and have attempted to use them, please give me your feedback. Any ideas, suggestions, or critiques would be quite helpful in the future development of educational resources on colorism.
Lupita Nyong’o has skyrocketed into the national and international spotlight since the release of 12 Years a Slave and the buzz surrounding the current award season.
12 Years came out in October of 2013 with Nyong’o playing the supporting role of Patsy.
Since then, Nyong’o was a favorite for all of the national Hollywood awards. She didn’t take home a Golden Globe, but she recently snagged a SAG and a CCA (Screen Actors Guild and Critic’s Choice Award). She’s also been nominated for an NAACP Image Award and an Academy Award.
She’s been the talk of fashion and entertainment circles and can be seen on magazines, news broadcasts, social media, and websites of all types.
This is all amazing news for Nyong’o. But her explosive fame is also good news for the rest of us.
How? Well, to explain how, I must first put Nyongo’s success in the broader context of colorism in Hollywood.
Colorism in Hollywood
Today, dark-skinned women are still under- and misrepresented in Hollywood. Sadly, this is the case no matter the race of the filmmakers.
In fact, colorism is more obvious in films with all or majority black actors. In films such as Baggage Claim or Best Man Holiday or Coming to America, it’s clear that lighter skin (and “whiter” features) is the feminine beauty standard for women in Tinseltown.
Beyond movies, the lack of dark-skinned women in all forms of media has been noted before.
That’s why the ubiquity of Lupita Nyong’o’s image, the fact that we can see her almost everywhere, is such an exciting phenomenon.
More about Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan woman who was born in Mexico in 1983. Her father was a politician and university professor. She and her family lived a middle class life in Nairobi.
At 19, she pursued studies in filmmaking at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, and not too long ago, she graduated from the Yale School of Drama with a Master’s in Acting.
Before her big break as an actress on the big screen, Lupita wrote, directed, and produced the 2009 documentary “In My Genes,” which looks at the treatment of albinos in Kenya.
In a Telegraph interview, Lupita’s own words about watching The Color Purple as a young girl so clearly illustrate the issue of colorism in Hollywood:
“It was the first time I’d seen someone like me on screen. Whoopi Goldberg had my kind of hair and was dark like me. I thought, maybe I could do this for a living.”
It’s safe to say that Lupita is now doing the same thing for other young girls right now.
Undermining Colorism in Hollywood
Here are a few ideas I have about exactly how Lupita Nyong’o and the buzz surrounding her could help fight colorism in Hollywood.
1) The simple fact that a dark-skinned actress with short, natural hair and “black” features is getting so much recognition and so many accolades will hopefully make filmmakers question their assumptions about who can appeal to a mass audience.
Too often people excuse colorism in casting by saying that “racially ambiguous” people are more relatable to a larger audience.
I say, please give me a strong break! If that were true, we wouldn’t see movies like Best Man Holiday with very dark-skinned male actors.
Lupita’s success exposes the lie in that excuse and reveals that movie makers repeatedly cast light-skinned women because they are caught up in colorism.
2) Lupita Nyong’o helps fight colorism because she is unmistakably dark-skinned (even when editors try to make her appear lighter than she really is), and yet people of all races all over the world are acknowledging her talent and beauty.
3) Lupita consistently wears her hair short and natural, helping to redefine what women must look like to gain acceptance in Hollywood.
Most black actresses on the red carpet wear straight hair, often with extensions or wigs. And there’s a common notion among many blacks that straight hair is necessary for mainstream success. Hopefully Lupita can move the needle on that harmful attitude as well.
Of course, Lupita might very well straighten her hair or don a wig or weave someday, maybe even soon. However, her courage to rock short, natural hair while first breaking into Hollywood (versus people who did so after already achieving a certain level of success) has definitely sent a strong message to the public.
4) I think her comment about Whoopi Goldberg suggests that Lupita is well aware of how her image impacts viewers around the world.
Many Hollywood stars attempt to be ahistorical. They want to pretend there’s no larger context for the roles they play on and off the screen. Such obliviousness, ignorance, or denial only supports the status quo.
By merely acknowledging the power of imagery in her personal life, Lupita has done more than many in progressing the fight against colorism (whether that was her intent or not).
Based on the subject of her 2009 documentary “In My Genes,” the role she chose to play in 12 Years a Slave and other comments she’s made, I’d say Lupita is the kind of person who would embrace the idea that she’s making a difference in Hollywood, even if only indirectly.
5) It’s not just the fact that she was cast in a movie and won awards that makes a difference for colorism in Hollywood. It’s the casting and awards, plus the mainstream media buzz surrounding this beautiful newcomer that somehow makes it significant.
One blow doesn’t win the battle
Before I close, I must say that colorism in Hollywood still exists despite Lupita’s recent rise to fame. We need to see more women like her (and continued positive responses to women like her) if we’re to actually see a significant reduction of colorism in Hollywood.
However, I think the attention she’s getting suggests that we can make progress.
I also think we should take advantage of all the attention she’s getting in Hollywood to strike a blow to colorism in our everyday lives, in our families, workplaces, schools, and personal relationships.
Let me suggest a few ideas of how we can do that.
♦ Watch her on television and in movies and get others to watch with you.
♦ Buy the magazines that are featuring her and share them with your kids, relatives, coworkers, etc.
♦ Share a picture of her and/or positive comment about her on social media.
♦ Do the same for other under- and misrepresented Hollywood actresses whenever possible.
Why do we date who we date? What’s really behind our choice of marriage partners? Is love truly blind? And more to the point of this post, is there colorism in relationships?How can we discern if it’s a matter of preference or prejudice?
Watch LIVE: Dr. Webb Elaborates on Colorism in Relationships and Preference vs. Prejudice (or Scroll to Continue Reading).
If there is colorism in relationships, how can we tell the difference between a person who coincidentally falls for someone of a certain skin tone versus someone who is color struck?
Here I present one perspective on this matter. Of course there are other viewpoints out there. If you’re new to this issue, I encourage you to explore those as well, after you’ve considered the following.
Is there Colorism in Relationships?
Yes. As Kola Boof says in this video, we can control who we love. As a society and as individuals, we make conscious choices about who’s loved and who’s rejected. We must not be satisfied with an uncritical acceptance of our beauty standards. We have to be willing to examine why we have preferences and realize that “preference” isn’t merely biological, physical, harmless attraction. Our preferences are shaped, molded, and conditioned by our environment. There’s no doubt in my mind that colorism plays a huge role in romantic relationships, but perhaps there’s some doubt in yours. So here’s why I’m so sure that colorism exists in relationships.
Because Racism Exists
As long as racism exists, and as long as that racism is internalized by various groups of people, colorism will also exist. That’s because racism causes colorism, like an offshoot.
If you believe that the world has evolved to a point where racism is no longer an everyday problem, then you might not recognize colorism as a problem either.
Tastsoglous also summarizes a lot of historical research on the issue by writing, “Even in the Black community, the fair-skinned Black woman who most nearly resembled White women was seen as the lady and placed on a pedestal, whereas darker-skinned Black women were viewed as b****** and whores.”
Charles also makes the very important statement that, “some of these people choose a browning [light skin] partner to have light skin children.”
Although there’s more research, I’ll close this section by referring to the writings of Darrick Hamilton, Arthur H. Goldsmith, and William Darity, who co-wrote “Shedding ‘light’ on marriage: The influence of skin shade on marriage for black females.” In that article, the writers refer to prior research that’s provided “ample evidence that greater social status is ascribed to black women with lighter skin shade in the U.S.”
However, in their own research, they establish further evidence of this, specifically for women under the age of 30. They report that “as skin shade lightens the incidence of marriage rises.” More specifically, they report general percentages as follows: “55 percent of light skinned black females had been married, but only 30 percent of those with medium skin shade and 23 percent of the dark skinned females had ever been married. The ever married rate for young whitewomen, 50 percent, is slightly less than the rate for young light skin blackwomen…”
The first woman to speak, who’s not really dark by world standards, admits that throughout her childhood people had told her: “You are dark, so you will never get married.”
Other testimonies in the documentary discuss how weddings have been cancelled because the bride was too dark, that photos used in marriage proposals are lightened and the women are made to wear powder to appear fairer, that local ads specifically request fair skinned marriage partners, and many more instances of day-to-day colorism in relationships.
Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o was told by a teacher while growing up in Kenya that she wouldn’t be able to find a husband because she was so dark.
In my own experiences living in the United States, I’ve heard many people explicitly say that they only date people with a certain skin tone. Beyond only dating men or women with a certain complexion, some people even go so far as to taunt, harass, belittle, and demean people who don’t meet their standards for skin tone. In some cases, men admit that they’ll sleep with women of any complexion, but will only date or marry women with light skin.
I’ve witnessed this kind of discrimination firsthand, and have observed it in numerous movies, TV shows, and song lyrics. If you have not, then consider yourself lucky, but don’t consider it proof that colorism in relationships must be a myth.
Preference or Prejudice?
I acknowledge that many relationship choices are controlled by subconscious programming, both biological and sociological. However, there are some clear signs that a person isn’t innocently falling for whomever destiny has chosen for them.
Predetermined Attraction
If physical attraction is supposed to be biological and instinctual, then predetermining the skin color of a future partner is a clear warning sign that a person is color struck.
Saying, “I only date ___ skinned girls/guys” exposes the colorism behind a person’s choice of partners.
Also, predetermining who you will partner with based on their skin color is NOT the same as preferring a certain personality, work ethic, or sense of humor. Skin color has no substantive effect on the quality of a relationship, whereas other sorts of personal qualities often do.
If a person is really just reacting to pure physical attraction rather than superficial societal standards, they would not be able to predetermine who they will or will not be attracted to based solely on skin color because not all dark/brown/light skinned people look alike.
And just because lots of people have similar superficial prejudices against other physical features, doesn’t make colorism in relationships okay.
Fetishes or Stereotypes about Complexion
A second warning sign that a person is color struck is that they make excessive comments about skin color. The comments may be positive or negative, and they may be about the person they’re currently in a relationship with or a total stranger.
The real giveaway is whether the comment contains over-generalizations, fetishizing language, and stereotypes(“dark/light skinned girls be like…”). If a person’s choice is really just “preference” based purely on biological physical attraction and not socially conditioned prejudice, then there would be no need for fetishizing and stereotyping. If you can’t express your so called “preference” without demeaning other people, then it’s not merely a “preference,” it’s actually prejudice. If racist stereotypes aren’t cool with you, then colorist stereotypes shouldn’t be either. And it does not matter if the person claims it’s “just a joke.” It’s still colorism.
If you can’t express your so called “preference” without fetishizing complexion, then it’s not a “preference,” but a sickness. It’s one thing to find someone’s complexion, hair, and features attractive. It’s another thing entirely to fetishize those traits.
Hypocritical Stance on Discrimination
Someone says they would never date outside of their race, and you call them racist. Someone says they’d never date a dark skinned girl, and you shrug and say it’s just “preference.” Those who insist that race should not matter in who a person loves, should, by their own logic, also insist that skin tone should not matter. Instead, those who “go to bat” to defend black men who choose to date/marry non-black women, saying it’s wrong to discriminate based on race, are completely silent and perfectly okay with black men (and women) discriminating based on skin tone. They support skin tone discrimination by saying, “it’s just preference,” but will call other people racist if they choose to only date within their race.
The ugly truth is that this double standard plays into the hands of colorism and white supremacy: Fight for the right to marry white/light (an effort founded on the perceived superiority of whiteness) and cosign anti-blackness.
Why Does it Matter?
These harmful beliefs don’t just affect who dates whom. These negative ideas permeate other important aspects of our lives like employment and health.
Marriage or partnership in general has a significant impact on the socioeconomic status of women.
Colorism in dating and marriage choices upholds white supremacy and racism.
Anti-black prejudice is wrong. Period.
Recognition is Only the Beginning
Some people really struggle to admit their prejudices (and perhaps never will), while others boast about their colorism. I don’t go out crusading to change these people’s attitudes and actions. I merely focus on awareness. It’s not my goal to make a color struck adult see the beauty in all skin tones. But by focusing on awareness, and acknowledging that the problem of colorism in relationships is real, perhaps we can impact younger/future generations and open up lanes of healing.
If you’re looking for a speaker or facilitator for your next colorism event, learn about Dr. Sarah Webb’s colorism keynotes and workshops.
The phrase ‘keeping it real” was coined by the hip hop world, a genre of music I’ve been known to enjoy. But many of the biggest names in hip hop are consistently guilty of NOT keeping it real. This applies to many aspects of hip hop, but for our purposes, we’re going to examine colorism in hip hop. The following are eight aspects of colorism in hip hop that we must be “real” and honest about.
Listen to Dr. Webb read this post or scroll to continue reading.
1) Colorism in hip hop does exist.
There’s debate about whether or not colorism exists in general, so we can expect controversy when discussing whether or not colorism exists in hip hop. Many have argued that it’s merely a preference rather than a prejudice. Defenders of all things hip hop would have us believe that it’s merely coincidence that so many rap lyrics glorify light skinned women and diminish dark skinned women, that it’s mere coincidence that so many rap videos exclude dark skinned women altogether, or that so many rappers choose to partner with light-skinned or non-black women exclusively and openly brag about it.
Well, as Huck said on a recent episode of Scandal, “Two things make a coincidence. Three things make a conspiracy.” Colorism in the music industry and elsewhere is a sign that the conspiracy of white supremacy has been fairly successful thus far. The pattern of positioning light skin and european features as the standard of feminine beauty is too pervasive to not be seen as something more insidious than “coincidence” or “marketing” or “crossover appeal.”
But, in case anyone still has doubts, just remember that hip hop stars have explicitly expressed their colorism. They can’t argue “coincidence” when rappers are blatant about their prejudice against dark skinned women.
2) Colorism in hip hop is another product of our long history of white supremacy.
I read recently that colorism exists partly because all cultures tend to favor the “exotic.” If this alone could explain colorism in our world today, we would see more dark skinned or mixed race people in European fashion shows. But we don’t. It’s hard to find even lighter skinned women of color on runways around the world. The exotic argument is related to the idea that colorism is nothing more than trivial preference or coincidence.
Really, there is a carefully built system that’s been strategically maintained (though weakening with time) which allows certain people to monopolize various forms of power. When you can convince an entire group of people that they are inferior to you, there are less obstacles to gaining and maintaining your power. And while that group is preoccupied with destroying itself by self-segregation and infighting, you’ll have a lot less competition. You can pull the wool over their eyes because they’re focused on their “inadequacies” rather than your injustice.
3) Colorism in hip hop has a negative effect on society.
Colorism affects us all, no matter how light or dark our skin is, because it’s an element of the racism that undermines every society. It reinforces racist stereotypes that have substantive effects in people’s lives, including employment opportunities, criminal convictions and prison sentences, marriage prospects, harassment and abuse, and more.
While hip hop is not solely responsible for perpetuating these stereotypes, it currently has one of the most significant roles in doing so. Hip hop spreads its colorist message around the globe, and it’s heavily marketed to highly impressionable youth, which leads me to the issue of low self-esteem in girls.
Some might argue that girls shouldn’t expect the media to build their self-esteem, that self-esteem should be built at home, or that girls should build their own confidence. That’s no excuse, however, to ignore direct attacks against the image of an entire group of people. If we don’t accept hip hop as a vehicle for building self-esteem, we most certainly should not accept it as a vehicle for tearing down self-esteem.
4) Artists have power to do something about colorism in hip hop.
There may be varying levels of power based on how long an artist has been in the industry or how important an artist is to a particular company. However, there are countless instances of artists in all genres exercising creative license in their videos, influencing the direction of their videos, and sometimes generating the entire idea themselves.
The idea that hip hop artists can’t do anything about casting in their videos is not only false, it also perpetuates the sense of helplessness that’s plagued our communities for far too long.
Kendrick Lamar By Jørund Føreland Pedersen
Here are a few examples of rappers who have directly affected the casting in their videos. Please note that this list does not represent an endorsement of the artists, their songs, or their videos. It merely illustrates the level of control rappers can have over their work. It also shows that rappers themselves are also aware of the level of colorism in the industry.
British Rapper Tinie Tempah said he choose all of the models for his video “Trampoline.”
2Chainz by WealthRangers
Kendrick Lamar made a last minute switch for the casting of the leading lady in his “Poetic Justice Video.” And he directly stated that his intent was to represent more dark skinned women.
2 Chainz was also outspoken on more than one occasion about purposely choosing to feature darker skinned models in one of his videos. He even pointed to the fact that his mom was dark skinned, suggesting that he has a reason to appreciate dark skinned beauty.
Finally, there’s no excuse for what rappers say in their music. While it may be easy to blame casting directors for the lack of diversity in video models, who can they blame for the colorism in their lyrics? If anyone has the power to stop perpetuating colorism through lyrics, it’s the artists themeselves.
5) Fans have power to do something about colorism in hip hop.
For us fans, it all comes down to money and support. If we stop spending money on them and stop supporting them, rappers will quickly learn that colorism shouldn’t be profitable.
6) Most don’t do anything about colorism in hip hop because they’ve been conditioned by white supremacy.
When people have power but don’t use it, it’s for one of two reasons: they don’t know they have any power, or they simply don’t want to use their power. When it comes to hip hop and colorism, most people, fans and members of the industry included, are complacent because they believe lighter and whiter is better. They don’t protest the existence of colorism because many of them agree with it. It’s a hard reality, but we won’t make progress on the issue of colorism unless we admit that our communities are filled with people who think it’s okay to privilege one shade of skin over another. We have to know where we stand. If a fan agrees that light skin is better, of course they’re going to attack you on twitter in defense of racist rappers.
7) Colorism is not just in Hip Hop.
Colorism leaks from the society at large into every genre of music that we create. It’s just more obvious in hip hop because the majority of the artists in that genre are people of color.
R&B has gotten away with a lot of colorism because the genre as a whole has less of an image problem, but it exists there too.
I point this out not to let hip hop off the hook, but to make sure we’re considering the issue holistically as well. We must address the issues in hip hop, but we must also address the issues in homes, schools, runways, churches, movie screens, magazines, boardrooms, and wherever else it needs addressing.
8) Although colorism in hip hop may seem overwhelming, we must continue to speak and act against it.
Social progress through out history shows us that change is slow, painful, and contentious. Some of us may not live long enough to see the full fruits of our labor, but we must labor anyhow.
Let’s be critical consumers and spread media literacy. Let’s create and and appreciate more constructive images of diversity. We don’t have to ban hip hop altogether, but let’s be real about the problems that exist within its culture.
Sibling rivalries. Estranged parents. Favoritism. Neglect. Abuse. Family should be the place where everyone can experience unconditional love and acceptance. Unfortunately, a lot of folks feel anything but that. Trouble at home can arise for many reasons—one of them is the existence of colorism in families. As Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman (2013) says, “In families, love is present, but … what love looks like may depend, in part, on what you look like” (p. 14). While many families of color around the world think it’s common place to hear casual comments or jokes about skin color, hair, or other features, there are far too many instances where colorism goes beyond mere words and results in outright neglect or abuse.
A lot of anti-colorism advocates focus on external pressures in the media as the primary source of colorism and low self-esteem. But many people tell a different story about how their own mothers, fathers, and other family members were the first to make them feel insecure about their skin color, hair, or facial features. Before a child is influenced by the media, they simply feel the love or lack of love and affection from their family. Research suggests that, “racialized dynamics within [families] can compromise subjective well-being in ways that are more devastating than structural inequality” (Hordge-Freeman, 2013, p. 14). The pain you feel when your own family rejects you can be far worse than how you feel about any images you may see in the media or any issues you may face outside of the home. Images in the media and negative reactions from non-family members are often just reminders and reinforcers of what we’ve learned about ourselves at home from our families. That’s not always the case, but too often it is.
If you’re tired of colorism in your family and colorism in general, I want to share with you some practical tips for dealing with colorism in families. My main goal for providing these tips is to help us protect the young people and the children in our families, but these tips could also provide relief for other adults or even for ourselves.
Watch, Listen, or Read More Below
1. Be COURAGEOUS.
It will take a lot of courage to stand up to family when you witness acts of colorism. Often times you’ll be criticized for being too uptight or for being a party pooper. Family may start to whisper about you, and some may even start to avoid you. You’ll get eye rolls and deep sighs (Oh! Here she goes again!). Prepare yourself for the backlash (because there will be backlash). But be encouraged by the fact that as uncomfortable as you might feel when you speak out in your family, it’s not as bad as children being made to feel uncomfortable in their own skin.
2. Know the perpetrators of colorism in families.
Because it’s difficult to always be vigilant (I mean, family is the one place where we should be able to let our guard down sometimes, even if just a little), it helps to know which family members are perpetrators of colorism. That way, you can prepare yourself when you’re around them, and be more relaxed when you’re not.
3. Don’t let “jokes” about skin tone go unaddressed.
People often disguise their hatred with humor. They know it’s unacceptable to state their negative opinions directly, so they turn them into jokes. That way they can say what they really feel, and if anyone tries to call them out on it, they can defend themselves by saying “it’s just a joke.”
But we’re too clever to believe that. Don’t laugh at such “jokes.” You can simply respond by saying, “Jokes are supposed to be funny, and that isn’t funny.” Or you can reaffirm the opposite of what the joke suggests. If the joke suggests that a certain skin color, hair type, or facial feature is unattractive, merely respond by saying that it is, in fact, just as attractive as any other.
4. Spread the love.
One of the most common manifestations of colorism in families is merely gushing over the looks of one particular individual (usually a child). If a baby or a child is light skinned with straight or loosely curled hair, certain family members can’t seem to help themselves. They make much ado about how pretty the child is and they like to show them off to other family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers. The lack of such attention and appreciation to other children in the family with darker skin and more Afrocentric features is obvious. People may not think it’s obvious, but it is.
Spread the love. Make sure every child in the room hears something positive about how they look and who they are.
5. Be aware.
In cases where colorism escalates from casual remarks to actual neglect and abuse, families should care enough to notice and do something about it. A lot of times we refuse to see what’s going on because we’re afraid of what we’re obligated to do if we know, or because we want to believe that our relatives could never be capable of such things. But if we ignore the mistreatment, then we’re complicit.
6. Be a mentor.
Sometimes it’s more effective to deal with people one-on-one. If you suspect that a younger person in your family is insecure about how they look, spend extra time with them. Have conversations and do activities that reaffirm their beauty and worth. Let them know that you understand what they’re going through and that they can talk to you about how they feel.
Similarly, if you know that a family member is a frequent perpetrator of colorism, pull them aside and let them know how their comments or actions are hurting the family.
7. Check yourself.
You know what Micheal Jackson said (I’m starting with the man in the mirror) and what Gandhi said (be the change you want to see in the world) and what Mathew 7:5 says (first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye). This goes for all of us, including me as a write this post and manage this blog. We must all watch our own attitudes, comments, and reactions if we’re going to be the role models in our families and call the people we love to a higher standard of love.
8. Be consistent.
Too often, we try something once and then give up when we don’t see full results right away. Resist the urge to say, Well, I tried to tell them, but nothing’s changed, so I give up. I’m just not going to say anything anymore. You may not see the payoff right away, but one day your young son or daughter, niece or nephew, brother or sister, will tell you how you impacted their lives by standing up for them when others were putting them down.
Can we do it? Can we create change with one person, one family at a time? I think we can if we all commit to it and support each other. What’s your experience with colorism in families?
Hordge-Freeman, E. (2013, May). What’s love got to do with it?: racial features, stigma and socialization in Afro-Brazilian families. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1-17.
And it all comes down to this question. Now that I’ve given an overview of skin bleaching around the world (and perhaps prompted you to continue your own research), I want to dedicate an entire post to exploring possible solutions to the skin bleaching culture around the world, which I call an epidermal epidemic. ColorismHealing.org reports on the current state of things, but we’re always looking forward and focusing on progress, what we can do to evolve beyond the status quo.
I don’t want to make this sound easy. It’s colossal. Our fight will be a long, challenging fight. The solutions may sound obvious, but their effectiveness does not require newness; it merely requires commitment.
Skin bleaching around the world has taken root and embedded itself in the very fabric of many people’s lives. It’s a global phenomenon propagated by multiple forces, many of them subtle and covert, and thus practically invisible. For this reason, it takes multiple tactics working in tandem to really bring down the global skin bleaching infrastructure.
Education
Spread information about skin bleaching around the world.
We must share the dangers of skin bleaching, the history of it, current practices, demographic and geographical profiles, the manufacturing and distribution of products, and chemical breakdowns of common products. Again, many people have been sharing this information for years. One source of information I recommend is The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 4, no. 4, June 2011, which is a special issue dedicated to skin bleaching. We must continue and expand the effort to get this information to the world.
Focus on media literacy.
Skin bleaching as an epidemic is commonly spread through advertisements and various media such as billboards, commercials, and magazines. Therefore, it’s important to teach people how to recognize the the manipulation (“persuasive techniques”) of the media. The Dark is Beautiful campaign, for example, hosts media literacy workshops. Of course, merely knowing the media’s strategies doesn’t make us immune to them. However when we’re educated, we can be more critical consumers and not be blindly persuaded.
Promote education in general.
As an educator, and someone who’s passionate about education, I just believe that this should always be a part of the solution to social problems. We must promote quantity as well as quality of education. By quantity I mean more people and more education. By quality I mean that education should be rigorous, and it should develop the entire person to live up to their positive potential and to be a productive global-citizen.
Empowerment
I’m using empowerment here to mean a kind of internal energy and drive within an individual and/or community. I also like to call it self-awareness and self-esteem. I’ll use a quote from from an earlier post on the difference between racism and colorism:
“Colorism among people of the same race is also considered a form of internalized racism. After centuries of being conditioned to view white/european as superior and their own race and culture as inferior, many people were broken and eventually believed in and acted according to that dichotomy….
If we internalize racism, we lose our will and our ability to fight the external system of racism. If we don’t value, respect, and love ourselves, why would we put up a fight when others don’t either. If we believe that white people are superior, then we won’t bat an eye at the disparities in education and wealth.”
Like I said before, we must attack colorism and skin bleaching on multiple fronts simultaneously. The work that it takes to change people’s attitudes about race and skin color is just as important (and equally challenging) as any other aspect of what we do. This takes commitment. Our psyches weren’t damaged overnight, and they won’t be rebuilt overnight either.
Economics
In the global system of capitalism, corporations seem like Goliaths that are impossible to defeat. But the best way to send them a message and affect their practices is to affect their sales. Mind you, I’m not an economist, but I use models of what’s been effective before.
National and local governments can act.
Some governments have banned the sale of certain products, which is a good start. We also need them to ban the manufacturing of such products, because we know that in places like the EU mercury soap is banned from sale, but can be manufactured there as long as it’s exported (Glenn, 2008, p. 285). Finally, local authorities have to enforce the bans and intercept smuggling.
The people have power.
Other traditional ways of bringing about change include boycotts, petitions, and peaceful demonstrations. It’s a foundational concept in business that if the people stop buying, then the company has to change or it will bleed money.
But boycotts are especially tricky, especially if they’re not organized in a transnational way. If one city or country effectively boycotts a company that promotes fair skin as the ideal, that company may be able to stay afloat because of their other international markets. Multinational companies often disguise themselves by operating under different names in various countries, but a little digging will always lead back to the parent company.
“One often-proposed solution to the problem is reeducation that stresses the diversity of types of beauty and desirability and that valorizes darker skin shades, so that lightness/whiteness is dislodged as the dominant standard…. Focusing only on individual consciousness and motives distracts attention from the very powerful economic forces that help create a yearning for lightness and that offer to fulfill that yearning at a steep price.” (p. 298)
I know I’m repeating myself when I say that we must commit to all of these efforts (and more) simultaneously and for the long haul. There’s no need for those of us who care about this issue to paralyze the movement by bickering about what should be done first.
I propose that we assemble international committees devoted to various strategies, but all working toward a common goal. We do not have to amalgamate and become one organization, but we can ban together like a sort of UN or NATO working to abolish the practice of skin bleaching around the world.
Personal preferences. Individual lifestyle choices. Freedom… Those are some of the things people call upon to explain and justify their indifference about the things other people do. When we talk about something like skin bleaching around the world, they say it’s no different than pale people getting tans. Well, they’re right about that. Tanning and bleaching are very similar in that both can be deadly, especially for those who can’t afford vetted, high-quality bleaches. Of course most people survive these practices, but not without long-term damage to their skin and overall health. There’s also the literal cost of skin bleaching. People continue to exploit colorism and racism for profit. So, I ask: Fair skin at what cost?
Harmful Effects of Skin Bleaching
The source of danger when tanning, of course, is overexposure to UV rays. The source of danger when bleaching is overexposure to certain chemicals.
Throughout history, among different groups of people, and in various places around the globe, people have created a myriad of concoctions that supposedly lighten the skin. In Europe, certain whitening cosmetics once contained white lead which could cause symptoms as serious as blindness or paralysis (Blay, 2011, p. 21). In addition to lead, many skin whiteners around the world use corticosteroids, hydroquinone, and mercury. Extended exposure to these chemicals (like lathering it on one’s skin on a daily basis) can have harmful effects such as neurological damage, kidney disease, ochronosis, eczema, bacterial and fungal infections, skin atrophy, and Cushing’s Syndrome (Glenn, 2008, p. 285).
What’s worse? Once exposed to some of these chemicals, the body forms a type of dependency, making it difficult to stop using the product because of adverse reactions when you do. Afua Hirsch (2012) quotes Dr Fatou Fall, a dermatologist from the Institute of Social Hygiene in Dakar: “Even when they discover the side-effects and want to stop using the creams, they find they cannot stop. It’s only when you stop that the skin changes and begins to become completely burned” (para. 12).
Artificially fair skin is costing people their health, but in many cases it also costs them the very thing they were so desperate to attain—confidence.
You might shrug it off. So what if they want to engage in self-destructive behavior? So what if a few people choose to take the risk of doing permanent damage to themselves?
Well, it’s a whole lot more than a few, and it’s not just “those people.”
Fair Skin has Another Cost
Large numbers of people in every region of the world use some type of skin lightning product. Some countries may not have much use for the stuff, but they’re nonetheless in the business of manufacturing it. The issue of skin bleaching, therefore, is not about “them.” It’s about us.
With the rise of the internet, the world players in the skin bleaching market have become even more connected. Companies have new inroads for marketing and distribution, and consumers have greater access to information and products (Glenn, 2008, p. 283). This is one reason why I’m such an advocate for using the internet as a means of counteracting, the obsession with lighter skin. Hence this blog and others like Dark is Beautiful, which is based in India.
Evelyn Glenn (2008) writes about how skin lightening is “interwoven into the world economic system and its transnational circuits of products, capital, culture, and people” and about the “media and messages, cultural themes and symbols, used to create the desire for skin lightening products” (p. 282). These products are manufactured in some countries and exported or smuggled into others. The media messages are conceived and created by a few individuals and are projected throughout the world. In fact, Distribution of mercury soap has been illegal in the EU since 1989, but it’s manufacture has remained legal as long as the product is exported” (p. 285).
To be blunt, I interpret this type of legislation as race- or ethnicity-based capitalism. If it were merely capitalism, then they would allow the mercury soap to be sold anywhere, including Europe. However, the governments and the manufacturers in those countries know the dangers of mercury and want to protect their own people, but are quite willing to make a profit at the expense of people’s health in other nations.
According to Glenn (2008), “the desire for lighter skin and the use of skin bleaches is accelerating in places where modernization and the influence of western capitalism and culture are most prominent” (p. 295).
And so, the new face of imperialism can be seen in magazines, on billboards, and on Movie, TV, and computer screens around the globe. The skin bleaching market is similar to colonialism in that the promotion of white superiority allows a few powerful and wealthy groups to become increasingly wealthy and powerful at the cost of masses of other people.
In 2012, Indians reportedly consumed an estimated 233 tonnes of bleaching products (Rajesh, 2013), and in terms of sheer numbers, Indians make up the largest skin bleaching market. In some African cities, as many as 52-77% of women use skin lighteners. A Synovate market survey in 2004 showed that 50% of respondents in the Philippines reported using skin lighteners. In places like Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, global surveys report that 20-50% of the of respondents had used skin bleaches and that 20-50% would use more if they could afford it. Mercury laden creams are still widely available in parts of Latin America, and in the U.S. women of all races, including Europeans and whites, have long legacies of skin whitening or lightening. (Glenn, 2008, pp. 284-295). And these indicators probably underestimate the practice of skin bleaching around the globe.
I present this information for people who might’ve thought skin bleaching was an isolated, marginal problem in limited places. It’s not. I reiterate that skin bleaching is a global issue with well-known roots.
The Roots of Skin Bleaching Around the World
One piece of research that shifted the way I think about white supremacy in general and skin bleaching in particular is that the practice actually began in Europe among the Europeans themselves (as opposed to immigrants from Southern nations). According to Dr. Yaba Blay (2011), “much of the history of European aesthetic practices is a history of whitening skin” (p. 20). Because of Queen Elizabeth I’s efforts to make her skin appear ghostly white, nearly transparent, extremely pale skin became known as the “Elizabethan ideal of beauty.” This ideal and practice of skin whitening was carried over to the Americas by female European settlers (p. 21).
This information supports the idea that skin bleaching is an issue that affects everyone. It shows that white supremacy even negatively affects white people. It shows that any ideal of physical beauty is arbitrary, unattainable, and downright foolish. But back to the history of it all.
The most basic and effective propaganda was founded on the dichotomy of white vs. black and light vs. dark, probably because they were and still are viewed as pure opposites in many cultures. Glenn (2008) explains that, “In Southern Africa, colorism is just one of the negative inheritances of European colonialism. The ideology of white supremacy that European colonists brought included the association of blackness with primitiveness, lack of civilization, unrestrained sexuality, pollution, and dirt” (p. 284). This was an effective type of messaging against black people around the world, but also effective for any group of darker skinned or brown people.
In desperate attempts to escape these negative associations, to escape various forms of discrimination, and to escape other concrete forms of oppression, people try to attain “light-skinned priviliege” in various ways, skin bleaching being one of them (p. 282).Blay (2011) lists the most common reasons that Ghanian and Tanzanian women give for using skin lighteners, including:
to remove blemishes and imperfections and to counteract effects of the sun
to appear and feel clean
to appear white, European, and “beautiful”
to please a partner, grab attention, or attract potential mates
to impress peers, appear sophisticated and modern, and gain economic and social mobility. (p. 22)
Among some African American women who participate in internet forums, the goal is to have light skin not white skin. They also state the desire to even out skin tone, remove blemishes, or to be two or three shades lighter like many American celebrities such as Halle Berry or Beyonce (Glenn, 2008, p. 288).
Young Filipinas who participate in such internet forums are similar in that they don’t look to white Europeans and Americans as the ideal. They see Japanese and Koreans as having the desirable skin tone, or “Spanish- or Chinese-appearing (and light-skinned) Filipina celebrities, such as Michelle Reis, Sharon Kuneta, or Claudine Baretto” (Glenn, 2008, p. 291).
As I stated before, imperialism continues in a more high-tech and glamorous fashion, but it’s still the basic practice of presenting one thing as the ideal, so that you can capitalize off of people trying to attain that ideal.
Historians and anthropologists have disagreed about whether world cultures favored lighter skin tones before European colonialism, but the obvious source of large scale skin bleaching around the world today is a form of global capitalism that exploits the historic ideology of white superiority.
Because many people have not heard of colorism and may be unclear about how it relates to racism, I want to explore the particular definitions and the relationship of colorism vs. racism.
Defining Colorism and Racism
Colorism- prejudiced attitudes and/or discriminatory acts against people based on the color (shade or tone) of their skin
Racism- prejudiced attitudes and/or discriminatory acts against people based on their actual or perceived racial status
I want to highlight the fact that people of differentraces may have the same skin tone. See the three women below.
Sonam Kapoor via MucksterAlyssa Milano via Mary Alice (Arsenic and Old Lace)Soledad O’Brien via The World Affairs Council
And people of the same race may have different skin tones. See the two women below.
Nicole Ari Parker via Sharon GraphicsRutina Wesley via Gage Skidmore
In cases of racism, two people of different races but identical skin colors will be treated differently. In the movie Pinky, for example, Pinky is a black woman who looks white. Despite her white skin color, Pinky is still mistreated and discriminated against just like the other blacks in her community.
In cases of colorism, two people of the same race but different skin colors will be treated differently.
This is how each operates on a fundamental level. Of course there are additional factors that may complicate each case, for example, other group identifications that could trump race or color in specific situations such as family, nationality, gender, occupation, or wealth, etc.
The Relationship Between Colorism and Racism
The relationship between colorism and racism has been explored by others before. The consensus is usually that colorism is a product or symptom of racism.
Societies with widespread issues of colorism also have long histories of colonization and influence by european countries. In these societies, european features such as white skin, straight hair, and light colored eyes were overtly promoted as the standard of civilized existence, intelligence, beauty, wealth, and power. In these societies, rights and privileges were also restricted to people of european decent. In places like the United States, one’s european bloodline had to be “pure,” meaning not mixed with any other races, in order to retain the rights and privileges reserved strictly for whites.
In contrast, those of other races were often forced into servitude or slavery, denied citizenship and protection under the law, classified as property along with inanimate objects and animals, labeled subhuman (3/5 human in the U.S.), denied education, barred from public places and certain jobs, and abused in any number of ways.
Colorism among people of the same race is also considered a form of internalized racism. After centuries of being conditioned to view white/european as superior and their own race and culture as inferior, many people were broken and eventually believed in and acted according to that dichotomy.
It’s under those conditions that people of varying races came to view european ancestry and european phenotypes as superior to all else and as a means to a better life. People try to acquire more european features and traits and encourage their children to “improve the race” (mejorando la raza) by marrying people who are as light or lighter and producing offspring with increasingly european phenotypes.
Colorism is a manifestation of the idea that even if one isn’t white, their worth may be determined by how closely they resemble a white person.
The woman at the beginning of the video “Negro: Colorism and Mejorando La Raza” makes the controversial yet not uncommon argument that internalized racism is more harmful and thus a more urgent concern than outside racism. Others are outraged at the idea. They call it a case of blaming the victim and insist that we can’t overcome internalized racism until we defeat external racism.
I think the battles are one in the same. If we internalize racism, we lose our will and our ability to fight the external system of racism. If we don’t value, respect, and love ourselves, why would we put up a fight when others don’t either. If we believe that white people are superior, then we won’t bat an eye at the disparities in education and wealth. However, it’s the external system of racism that teaches and enforces white supremacy, and there’s a strong case for arguing that dismantling that system would curb the level of internalized racism.
So what is the difference between colorism vs. racism? Is one issue more important than the other?
Many disagree, but I say that there is no difference. Internalized racism (colorism) and external racism are so interwoven at this point that we can’t attempt to extract one without addressing the other.
If you’re looking for a speaker or facilitator for your next colorism event, learn about Dr. Sarah Webb’s colorism keynotes and workshops.
Phenotype is a fancy word for how a person looks. It refers to all of a person’s physical traits that can be seen with the naked eye, such as hair, eyes, nose, lips, and skin color.
In the video Wide Angle: Brazil in Black and White, a secret panel evaluates pictures of potential students and classifies them into racial categories (black or white) based on how they look. This is to determine who qualifies to apply to the University of Brasilia through the new quota system (black) and which students had to apply as part of the general population (white). This is obviously a slippery slope, as proven by the fact that identical twins were placed in different racial categories. One twin was deemed black. The other twin was deemed white.
The relationship to phenotype and race and colorism is a very important one. Associating phenotype with race in societies where class, social status, power, and privilege correspond to race, means that people may gain more opportunities, status, power, and privilege based on how look, regardless of their actual lineage. It’s in those societies where colorism really takes root.
In the U.S. this is most acute in the practice of passing, which is when a person of one race chooses to live in the world as a person of another race. Historically these people have mostly been documented as blacks who pass for white based on their phenotype. The most commercially famous study of this phenomenon are the two versions of Imitation of Life, a film in which a young black woman essentially disowns her black mother, moves away, and lives life as a white woman.
What the film also reveals about passing in the United States, especially historically, is the constant fear of being found out, because in the U.S. phenotype does NOT determine race, at least not on paper. No matter how much people may look white, if it’s known that they have black ancestry, then they are treated like black people. That’s why the character in Imitation of Life and the countless people in the real world were forced to disown their families and everyone who knew them in the past out of the need to hide their racial ancestry.
The case of the twins in Brasilia and passing in the U.S. prove that it’s nearly impossible to rely on phenotype to determine race.
But the reason for talking about passing is to show how people believe that lighter skin, lighter eyes, straighter hair, and more European facial features is the ticket to a better life, and in many cases they have been right (depending on how one defines “better life.”) This belief is the historical root of colorism in many cultures. Colorism isn’t arbitrary.
In other countries with historically less rigid classifications of race, such as Brazil, the balance of power is still based on a hierarchy of phenotypes. Many have reported the persistent discrimination against darker skinned people in Central and South America. The University of Brasilia (and other businesses and institutions) began using a quota system because activists protested about disparities in the enrollment of such institutions. Prior to the quota system, the student body at the University of Brasilia had been up to 98% white (phenotype not necessarily race). In the case of this particular quota system, a “black” phenotype might actually open the gate to opportunity for some students, a reversal of what’s typically and historically the case.
This post isn’t to argue for or against the use of quotas. I simply use the film as a great example of how, even without rigid racial classification, even with a long history of racial mixing, colorism prevails. The skin bleaching and marriage preferences in more racially homogeneous countries is further proof. As long as the balance of opportunity, wealth, power, and privilege is decidedly tipped in favor of one race or one shade, colorism will continue to exist, and people will continue to see phenotype as their ticket to a better life.
One of my favorite speeches by Malcolm X explains that people come to hate their phenotype because of how others react to it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with how anyone looks. If we’re unhappy with how we look, it’s because of the way people have historically used our physical appearance to decide if we’re slave or free, rejected or admitted, turned away or offered service, profiled or let off the hook, guilty or innocent, ignorant or intelligent, ugly or beautiful, dangerous or safe, and on and on and on.
Perhaps this would not be the case if everyone merely had their “preferences.” But it’s more than that. There’s a national, even global system in place that takes the notion of preference out of the equation by conditioning our “preferences” through propaganda and social norms and in many cases predetermining our “preferences” through laws. In fact, this structure is so ingrained and so ubiquitous that it’s invisible to most people in most situations. When we do see the structure, we also become aware of how difficult the structure is to dismantle, like trying to extract the flour from a loaf of bread that’s already been baked.
Thus, many people prefer to change themselves rather than change the system. Many people find it easier to demand something else of themselves rather than of the system. Many people decide that if they can’t fight the system, they have to find a way to survive within it. Colorism.
If you’re reading this, I hope that you reject the notion that we as people are flawed and recognize that it’s the system that’s deficient and needs changing. In the current structure of many societies today, phenotype IS a ticket to a “better life,” but with continued work, we can see to it that everyone can own such a ticket regardless of how they look.
The Association of Black Psychologists has written an informative report on colorism in America, including the history, the effects, and possible solutions. If you’re looking for a concise yet thorough overview of colorism in the U.S. this is a great place to start. Click here to Read the ABP report.
A couple of years ago I wrote a post about how the media rarely discusses the topic of colorism. In comparison to the number of open conversations had about body image in general, self-esteem, peer pressure, bullying, violence, drugs, teen pregnancy, racial profiling, etc, colorism was virtually non-existent in the mainstream media for a long time. School Daze, of course, not withstanding. But now, I’m happy to write this post on the media’s increased attention to colorism.
Over the past few years, there’s been an influx of media attention to the role that skin color specifically plays in societies and within racial groups. I’d say the biggest media project has been the Dark Girls Documentary. The most mainstream attention to colorism has been Soledad O’Brien’s Black in America 5. Because of Soledad’s presence on CNN, the issue of colorism finally hit a main stage and all sorts of people began discussing it on social media, websites, and more. Many people were even hearing about the term and the phenomenon for the first time.
But most recently, as in the past several days, I’ve seen six different television segments where colorism was a prominent theme or talking point, all within the span of a few days. Granted, five of those six (Dark Girls, Oprah’s Next Chapter, Imagine a Future, Girl Talk, and Being Mary Jane) were on so called “black” channels like Centric, BET, and OWN. The other was on MSNBC, but still part of the show anchored by a black woman, Melissa Harris Perry.
Regardless of where or when these segments aired, six distinct presentations of the theme of colorism is exponential growth compared to what was on television when I was growing up. So, hooray for younger generations coming of age today where they’re more likely to see their experiences validated in a major way.
I should also acknowledge that with this increased attention comes more contention. There are still those who say that colorism either doesn’t exist, is not worthy of our attention, or is the fault of an individual’s low self-esteem rather than something structural. I have a feeling though that this is merely the necessary growing pains that every movement goes through. The more we continue to talk openly about colorism, the less frightening the conversation will become.
That’s why I finally, after more than two years of wondering what my role in this movement could possibly be, decided to launch a site dedicated to continuing that conversation. When I searched the internet for colorism, there wasn’t one prominent site that people could return to every day for updated information, discussion, and inspiration about the topic of colorism. Many sites have featured pieces on colorism, but always in the context of a larger focus, like race, or black women’s lives in general, or current events, etc.
But here, you can count on finding new content about healing from colorism.
The purpose of this Introduction to Colorism is to help parents, educators, mentors, and counselors facilitate discussions about colorism with young people of all ages.
