Black Colorism

Colorism is based on skin tone and the person who is closer to being white would have more opportunities in life. If you’re darker than others it usually don’t play out in your favor but if you’re lighter than others you are privileged. Colorism is defined because the mind-set among African Americans discriminating differentiate skin complexion, for instance being too mild or too darkish. Colorism originally came from slavery, because slave owners would treat slaves with lighter complexion better than slaves with darker skin. For example slaves with dark colored skin would have to work out in the field in the hot sun while slaves with fairer complexion worked in the house in the AC. Also slave owners would sexually intercourse with light-skinned

During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, whites established slavery for power and wealth (Aworawo 2001). Through their establishment, whites dehumanized people of color and made them believe that Black people are inferior to Caucasians. Amid the Slave Trade, their belief system spread from Europe to Africa and then to the Americas. In modern times, in the United States, this belief system continues to be prevalent but has evolved into new forms of racial oppression. Today, in society, the idea is represented in several ways, including through micro-aggressive statements, whites stealing intellectual property from Black people, gentrification, police brutality, etc. Minorities have also fallen prey to this repressive mentality. Because of the aftermath and repercussions of slavery, some minorities prefer to be white, and others mistreat their people because they want them to be in worse positions than themselves. The aftermath of slavery has caused both invisible and visible divisions within our society that will take many more years to

If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be "compatible with the white female standard of beauty" (Ashe 580) in order to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of "sociohistorical racial injustices" (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat "easy coexistence" because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a "pervasive hierarchy" of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312).

The contempt that is held amongst blacks is not only based on class and education, but can be found related to color and/or skin tone. Division among light skinned and dark skinned blacks dates back to slavery. On plantations the master used these skin categories to divide the house slaves and the field slaves. Since position inside of the house were easier and more comfortable , the slaves with lighter skin were envied by their darker peers who were given difficult outside jobs in the field. After slavery ended if your skin was light it made it easier for you to mix into white society. Many parents encouraged their light skinned children, especially daughters, to attempt to pass for white. Lighter skin gave you opportunities at better jobs, slightly

The preference that slave masters showed towards fair-skinned slaves throughout the years of slavery has had a profound and lasting impact on the perspectives, stances, and biases towards varying skin tones in the present day African American community. During slavery days, most lighter skinned slaves were the offspring of African slaves, and caucasian slave masters. Their lighter skin, looser hair curl patterns, and european features sometimes granted them access to better educations, better working conditions, better food, and more prominent positions in the slave hierarchy. These beneficial aspects of their lives invariably stemmed from their genetic ties to their owners; hence the reason why slave-owners were often partial to fairer skinned

Racism in the South had remained a constant from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the end of reconstruction. Before the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment, slave owners did not only use racism to justify slavery, but they used race to stop the endeavors of their slaves. Document 6 Cites how slave owners told their slaves they could not learn to read or write because African Americans did not possess the intelligence to do so. Some slave owners actually believed this racist notion while others lied to prevent their slaves from learning to read and developing an efficient form of communication. After the end to slavery, racism in the South continued to live on. In addition to day to day racism, groups formed to ensure that African

Historical archives discovered by Dorman show that colorism had tangible boundaries within the African American community during the 1920s (47). It is stated that blacks often divided themselves into four subcategories which consisted of “black”, “brown”, “light brown”, and “yellow” Negros (Dorman 47). The above ranking would be listed in a hierarchy from “black” being at the bottom of the socially accepted hierarchy to the “yellow negro” being the most revered and desired socially.

Many laws were created in an effort to ensure a white man’s position over a black man’s position. It was made illegal for an African American to insult any white man regardless of either person’s position (red). Also, slave owners were allowed to punish their slaves in any form they deemed necessary. Often they would punish a slave more harshly in order to show the rest of their slaves the repercussions for their missteps. Southerners also used race to justify the negative claims about slavery. They claimed that the white colonists were civil while the African Americans were barbaric and dangerous. When referring to African Americans, white southerners used language similar to the language used by educated Englishmen while describing the extremely poor (red). This influenced others to believe that African Americans were beneath them, which led more and more people to begin to condone slavery.

Though, the bigotry and racism against the American Negro had become rooted in many institutions in American society by the time of the Brown ruling. Jim Crow laws isolating public facilities had become established in the South. In adding to public facilities, the Negro felt the agony of discrimination in the area of housing, the armed forces and transportation.

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

White people can be effective anti-racist allies by beginning to dismantle societal colorblind racism starting with challenging their own intrinsic racism and educating others on how racism exists today. Racism has been ingrained in American culture and history for generations and continues to negatively affect minorities and positively affect white people. Consequently, white people and people of color alike, suffer from prejudices about race. Thus, an anti-racist ally must challenge all these prejudices society has taught them about people of color. One way an ally can do that is by breaking out of the white habitus- “a racialized uninterrupted socialization process that conditions and creates white racial tastes, perceptions feelings and

This tolerant attitude led to a wide range of “race classification.” According to how much “white” a slave had, their value in the eyes of society increased. Slaves could be black, octaroon or mulatto to name a few. Thus this led to a classification based on one’s degree of white blood. In the United States no such classes existed. If a slave was born to a black mother, that slave was black. In essence, Latin America judged based upon the degree of “blackness” while the South saw only two races, black or white. Outward appearance, the color of the father or anything else deviated the classification in the United States. It has been said, half-facetiously, that Southerners are color blind, in the sense that individuals, despite their racial composition, are considered to be either white or black, while Latin Americans recognized degrees of blackness and whiteness.

During the Era of the Slave Codes, we realize that most of the laws set in place have been established by an overwhelming sense of fear or danger, in relation to how specific people look and behave. The rules that were set in place to prevent slave rebellions and other racial problems in the colonies was known as the “Slave Codes.” The slave codes reflect the growing ethnic order and development of fear of slave communities by creating a division of humanity based on skin color, which enforced through multiple laws that were established by the colonies themselves, in each respective area. Before the slave codes were developed, there was a growing population of Africans in the Colonies, due to both importation and reproduction or already existing

Additionally, Slavery created different sections in society , therefore when the two societies were finally able to publicly be able to work as a team and live together, unwelcoming emotions arose. People of colored skin have been welcomed with closed arms and anger. Frequently, slavery has left an effect in the modern day. Forcing people of color to battle conditions each day, living in impoverished places, filled with racism from the people who are supposed to protect and the government whose purpose is to provide the children with opportunities to schooling.

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.