Colorism Research Paper

Colorism is a racialized system that is closely intertwined with racism, mirrors white supremacy, and for African-Americans, it is a lingering artifact from slavery (Hunter, 2007). Slave masters stratified slaves and allocated status upon their skinned color, which created a hierarchy and, in some instances, tension among slaves. The purpose of this stratification was for the slave master to prevent an alliance among slaves which had potential to lead to rebellions (Lynch, 1712). Light-skinned slaves were usually the product of African-American women being raped by their white slave master, therefore multiracial slaves shared similar physical features to that of their white slave masters (Hill, 2002). Offspring’s of rape were more likely to

Lynch’s tactic was to replace the physical chains and whips of slavery with psychological tethers of oppression that had the possibility to last for 300 years (Lynch, 1712). Colorism operates in contemporary African-American community today through the perpetuation of the standards of beauty, superiority, and identity established during European colonialism. In reference to beauty, lighter skinned Black women are often perceived as more attractive than darker skinned African-American women (Hill, 2002). In addition, there is often an assumption that lighter skinned African-American women must be interracial due to their physical features (i.e. green eyes, loose texture hair) resembling that of a White person. However, people fail to realize that by making this assumption, it is suggesting that African-American women are beautiful only if they are mixed with another race that is not of African descent. From slavery until now, the identity of African-American women has been suppressed by those who see her as a subordinate to themselves, which cripples African-American women’s ability to know, accept, and love herself as fulfillment of her