Are You a Coloracist?

September 30th, 2010 - By Christelyn Karazin

I posted that question in preparation for my upcoming October series on coloracism amongst blacks and other dark-skinned minorities.  I was expecting some feedback, but frankly, the 115+ comments I got in just 24 hours was telling me something  sinister and incendiary was going on, and we don’t seem to want to discuss it –as with many *cough* other stains in our collective dirty laundry basket.

I first had intended to introduce this topic in another way.  But this woman’s experience so moved and frighted me and the impact, I believe, stands alone.

I am originally from a Caribbean country but I was raised here in America; I believe that colorism is ten thousand times worse over there than in the US. At least here in the US the one drop rule forced light-skinned and mixed race blacks to identify as black, even if they looked white, like Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Many white-looking blacks like him chose not to pass as white. But no such rule exists in my country, so light-skinned people, even those with African features, consider themselves white and most of them really hate dark skinned people.

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  • Symone

    This topic has always been an issue within the black community. I am a "lighter skinned " black female who was raised in a family of twelve and I am blessed that my parents or siblings never made a difference in the way we were treated. We all vary in color, so when I went out into the world I never felt that way about my darker skinned brothers and sisters, I felt that we were no different from each other and I am going to teach my daughter the same thing. I think its up to the parents to put certain morals and values in our children and we need to more of that in our community. My daughter is dark skinned and to me she the most beautiful thing that my eyes ever seen. We are all beautiful people and we should treat each other that way, BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER WHAT SHADE!!!

  • IThappened2me

    I am the 1 and only brown-skinned child out of 5. The rest of my siblings are light-skinned. I was treated very differently in my opinion, because of my complexion, but to this day they swear that I was treated the same as they were and fairly…But I was teased for having the nappiest hair, I was told that I was adopted, that dark-skinned people are evil, etc. I thought that I was so black and ugly. People would see my little sister and I playing together and would say how beautiful she was and wouldn’t even comment about me. I would actually hear people tell her that she was the prettiest child that my parents had! They always wanted to comb and play in her curly hair and never wanted to touch mine. No one ever told me that I was beautiful as a child. Needless to say, I grew up with a complex and with very low self-esteem. I used to pray every night as a child, that God would make me light-skin and pretty. . I thought that I was the blackiest and ugliest thing walking. I didn't realize that I was not as dark as I thought I was until I reached high school, in high school I realized that I was light brown, but I was teased so much by my light skinned siblings that I thought I was dark and ugly. This topic is definitely an issue within the black community.

  • Kieko

    I am glad to see this issue being highlighted in a public form. I am a light skinned Black woman. I grew up in LA and had no idea that there was a difference in how Blacks treated each other based on skin tone until I moved to ATL for college. I mean don't get me wrong, growing up there was always that dark skinned kid who was teased and called black this and black that. I have often been wrongly assumed to snotty, or having come from some sort of money just because Im light skinned. Growing up in a family that is diversely Black, on a very light to very dark spectrum, skin tone was never an overtly distinguishable issue in my family. I will say the "good hair" vs "Nappy hair" thing was definitely something more pressing. You see although, I am a very fair skinned Black woman,I have very tightly coiled 4a hair "nappy". My significantly darker skinned cousins with curly or nearly straight hair were praised more by family and non-family members for their "pretty hair". I even have a younger sister who is still light skinned but not as fair as I am but has very curly hair and was often treated better esp. by non-family members. When I moved to ATL as a college student, I noticed I was often referred to as "Red". I didn't know what Red meant and even asked my cousin who lived there previously, if I resembled someone else named "Red". Myself and my light skinned friend were often allowed to enter clubs without waiting in line and served first when in company of darker skinned women. When I hung around darker skinned women, I have been asked by Black men why do I hang out less attractive women. This were women who were in fact attractive inside and out. This issue intrigued me so much do that I wrote my undergrad research proposal on the skin tone bias among African Americans. As it turns out there is a significant amount of research that correlates notions of attractiveness to the quality of inter and interpersonal relationships. In short if light skinned blacks are perceived as more attractive, they earn more in the lifetimes, are more educated, and typically do well across all domains when compared to darker skinned AA. What was more surprising is that there are so many negative associations with darker skin period. For those that do not think this is a real issue, take the time to do some research. I am always amazed that when I tell someone that I don't have curly hair, which I normally wear straight, they roll their eyes as if because Im light skinned with light eyes I must have curly hair. Also if I tell anyone that I was born and raised in South Central LA, and my father is darker than dark and my mother is carmel complected, I must be lying. I went through my struggle of feeling like I had to prove my Blackness, because I didn't want to be the "typical light skinned girl". Knowing the root of the ignorance that plagues our people allows me to comfort the ignorance with knowledge. Only when we truly educate ourselves and start embracing ourselves do we allow others to do the same.

  • Alicia

    @ Rej its great that you've dated alot of brighter skin females and darker females. That fact that you felt the need to define them is my point exactly.

  • Alicia

    This is very real. We are beautiful people in all shades and forms. Its unfortunate after everything our ancestors went through that we have allowed this bias to come over into our own community. Ignorance is bliss people and as long as your continue to not acknowledge this problem it will continue forever. It's disgusting that this exists within our own race, just disgusting.

  • igoturnumber

    Interesting that the author makes a point to highlight the under-achievements of her light-complected siblings, as if to imply that by her being darker she was a better and more accomplished individual. She also seems to imply that Caribbean colorism is worse because mix-raced individuals have the choice to identify as white, as opposed to the United States in which the archaic one-drop rule is ridiculously forced-on people, thereby supporting the "merits" of the one drop rule. I believe the author is suffering from her own "hidden" colorist issues.

  • camille

    where are you from?!

    I am Caribbean and if you have black features and pale skin, you are black. :| . I'm sorry, I find it worse in the American Continents, both north and south. It seems that European aesthetic is more desirable the further west you go. I won't lie, there are some idiots who think being light-skinned equates being pretty, but I don't know of any examples that are quite as extreme as yours.

  • Brenda

    I empathize with you and I am happy to hear how you've overcome such a difficult childhood. We, as people, already live in a world where we are hated. We should at least feel loved and supported at home.

    The One Drop Rule was originally designed to keep blacks and whites separate. Many people still believe in it and many do not. Now a days, in the United States, it is a choice, not a mandate.

  • ReJ

    Funny because Iv'e dated alot of brighter skin females.. My Ex Wife was very bright

    its funny because I am more attracted to darker skin..

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