America likes to pretend it is a post-racial society, where we all exist as a cohesive unit. But, um, no…racism is still alive and well, even as we continue to form interracial unions and offspring.
America has become less white within the last century, and “minority” groups continue to grow their presence, yet we still cannot let go of the unethical mindsets and nuances handed down from our forefathers.
With a growing interracial population, people have become increasingly uneasy with not being able to instantaneously identify a person’s racial identity and ethnicities. We as humans feel the necessity to categorize everything, typically in a binary fashion. Categorizing humans is how we can assess their similarities to ourselves, or their possible threats to our ways of living.
Upon being introduced to a new individual, the first things you will notice are their skin color and their gender. And from this initial assessment, we can go within our own mental archive and assess how we feel about this person, their lifestyle, their culture, etc. Just from one initial glance?! But we do it anyway.
Now, typically, racism is defined as prejudice or discrimination against someone of a varying race due to a superiority complex. However, colorism crosses racial boundaries, and is present within same racial groups.
Alice Walker, in her book In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens, defined colorism as “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color.” Specifically, she was referring to the light-skin preference in black communities. However, colorism is present throughout the globe in many countries; Southeast Asia, The Caribbean, Africa, Latin America, etc.
Light skins of any background often receive better jobs, make more money, and housing than those of darker skin tones. We perceive those who are lighter as more genuine, more respectable, more deserving of advancement.
But why are we so obsessed with how dark or light someone is, people belonging to the same racial group, further dividing ourselves?
I am Latina, and in the winter often much lighter than the rest of my family. Older family members praise it, for I can pass as “whiter” and be more protected in this society. They encourage me to stay indoors, avoid the sun, and ride out my “white” wave. “Morena”, “Gringa”, “Negra”. Terms we avidly use to describe people of varying shades. In our own racial groups, we often mock or degrade (whether physically or subconsciously) those of darker skin tones.
If we study our historical and recent public figures, celebrities, we notice that those of “non-white” racial identities are often light-skinned?
Recently, Beyoncé’s father admitted he initially dated her mother because he thought she was white. He admits to how colorism was deeply ingrained in him from Southern society. His mother told him “Don’t ever bring no nappy-head Black girl to my house.’” He even spoke upon how his daughters, among many other chart toppers, are light skinned. And it’s not just a coincidence.
When my father first introduced my mother to my grandma, she told him “no, no Puerto Rican women.” My grandmother is FROM Puerto Rico, and my mother is European. But just because my mother appeared to be darker and varying from white, she really told her son not to date her—only white women.
This is what we are teaching our children. Find yourself a light-skin or a white person to boost your credit. Our children grow up fearing being darker, belittled for being darker. Constantly trying to appear whiter, act whiter, etc.
It is so much more than I could ever cover in an article, but it’s an unjust illness our world suffers every day. It is something so ingrained within us, we judge ourselves and those around us how dark they are. Should I mention skin bleaching, or is that just redundant?
– Savanna Marino