Most people believe racism only exists between two groups of different races, that everyone within one ethnic group gets along totally fine. In a perfect world, Colorism does not exist. However, the world we live in is very flawed. Colorism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a darker skintone, usually within the same ethnic or racial group. The start of colorism within the African-American community is said to be derived from slavery. In those years blacks were separated based on their skin tone; lighter complexioned individuals were kept in the house to do work for “Massa”, while individuals with darker complexions were forced to endure the harsh conditions of the Southern sun. Later on during the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans were allowed certain privileges based on how their skin compared to a brown paper bag. Those who were lighter than the bag were treated better and had social freedoms closer to those of white people. This divide forced upon these people by “the white man” created an internal “war” among black people. This hierarchy is perpetuated, as evident by an anonymous junior, “I don’t like light skinned people. They think they are God’s gift to the world, but they’re just like everyone else.”
This “war” is still prevalent because it is highly perpetuated by the media, black people continue to aggravate the issue, and people are more subjective to fairer skin. For example, when fashion and cosmetic media outlets advertise using women of color, they usually use women like Zendaya, Cristina Milian, and Selena Gomez, all of which are of a light complexion, to represent them. In the eyes of the consumer, it seems as if their product only suits fairer skinned clients; and half of the time this assumption is correct, as it is hard to find beauty products that suit the darker toned customers. In music, lighter skinned men are expected to make softer, more soothing music, whereas darker skinned men are “supposed to” be more rugged and hard in their productions. Gabourey Sidibe once said, “I never hated the color of my skin, I hated the way people felt about it.” This quote displays the effects of Colorism on darker skinned African-Americans, as Sidibe, who is more known for playing the main character in the movie Precious, is of those with darker skin. Not only does she represent African-Americans in real life, but she was also an example of how Colorism perpetuates through media, as Precious was an under-privileged, stereotypical Black teenager facing struggles that non-Black Americans would find normal for a dark skinned African-American.
Experiencing stereotypes like this in movies and music unintentionally causes a regression in the Black community in terms of love and respect. Jaleel Campbell said it best in an article on The Odyssey Online, “Frequent sightings of dark skinned people portrayed negatively in the media is heavily exploited, while light skinned and non-black individuals are portrayed more positively.These kind of prejudgements negatively impact the African American community and prevents the culture from moving forward.” Craig Beaudion 2017 said, “People say lightskin people have it easier but either way we are still black. We have the same problems you face just in a different way.” Colorism affects both sides because stereotypes are made for both. This is wrong because there should be no divide at all.
Colorism is embedded in the fabric of the African-American community, and it is so subliminal, it is everywhere but no one notices. Colorism should have never been integrated into the community but even now it should diminished from the African-Americans mentality. “I love darkskins. I love lightskins. I love them all!” -Kayla Dixon, ‘17, those people who think like her are the cure to complete equality. Racism against the community they cannot control but this they can. Kendrick Lamar said; “We look so much on color we forget about the soul.” It’s not about the color it’s about what’s within, until people start to recognize this there can be no complete unity.