Colorism Cause and Effect
“…I instantly knew that Miss Miller did not like me because of the color of my skin. I was too dark and I was a nappy-headed colored child,…Pat was five years younger that me and she was light-skinned…And I was put out on the porch to sleep…I wasn’t even allowed to sleep in the house..” -Oprah Winfrey
Colorism is a form of bias in the United States prominent among the black community that is primarily based upon skin tone and hair type, afflicting relationships within African American households. Beauty standards and chances of succession in our society create a divide of self-hate or hate spread among blacks. Our quality of life from youth ascending into adulthood is scrutinized if we lack desirable long hair …show more content…
Sometimes very light-skinned blacks benefit economically as compared to dark-skinned blacks because they are not readily identified by potential employers as black (Banks). Colorism had even gone as far as tainting the black economic system. The “blacker the berry the sweeter the juice” hardly applies when dark-skinned men and women are seen as distasteful in working positions. Leadership in a corporate business can’t be possible for a dark-skinned brother or sister, a notion that exists in the working world. People have the assumption that a man's deep dark melanin exists only because he has slaved hours in the heat for labor or athletic reasons. No one thinks that a brown brother can have an extensive background in medicine or maybe that genetics cause ones dark pigmentation. A woman with light skin can catch the boss’ eyes simply by a beige complexion, consequently a darkskinned woman may struggle to keep her foot in the door. Statistics show that dark-skinned blacks in the US have lower socioeconomic status, more punitive relationships with the criminal justice system, diminished prestige, and less likelihood of holding elective office compared with their lighter counterparts (Hoschild).Opportunities are not equally rewarded between blacks and this increases the division even
“…I instantly knew that Miss Miller did not like me because of the color of my skin. I was too dark and I was a nappy-headed colored child,…Pat was five years younger that me and she was light-skinned…And I was put out on the porch to sleep…I wasn’t even allowed to sleep in the house..” -Oprah Winfrey
Colorism is a form of bias in the United States prominent among the black community that is primarily based upon skin tone and hair type, afflicting relationships within African American households. Beauty standards and chances of succession in our society create a divide of self-hate or hate spread among blacks. Our quality of life from youth ascending into adulthood is scrutinized if we lack desirable long hair …show more content…
Sometimes very light-skinned blacks benefit economically as compared to dark-skinned blacks because they are not readily identified by potential employers as black (Banks). Colorism had even gone as far as tainting the black economic system. The “blacker the berry the sweeter the juice” hardly applies when dark-skinned men and women are seen as distasteful in working positions. Leadership in a corporate business can’t be possible for a dark-skinned brother or sister, a notion that exists in the working world. People have the assumption that a man's deep dark melanin exists only because he has slaved hours in the heat for labor or athletic reasons. No one thinks that a brown brother can have an extensive background in medicine or maybe that genetics cause ones dark pigmentation. A woman with light skin can catch the boss’ eyes simply by a beige complexion, consequently a darkskinned woman may struggle to keep her foot in the door. Statistics show that dark-skinned blacks in the US have lower socioeconomic status, more punitive relationships with the criminal justice system, diminished prestige, and less likelihood of holding elective office compared with their lighter counterparts (Hoschild).Opportunities are not equally rewarded between blacks and this increases the division even