Colorism

The History of Colorism

Novelist Alice Walker is credited for having coined the term colorism in 1982; however, colorism has existed for centuries and can be traced back to the early days of institutional slavery in the United States. European colonialism created a system of white supremacy and racist ideology that supported the enslavement and oppression of Africans. Differences in skin tone positioned whites at the top and blacks at the bottom.

Rooted in slavery, colorism is particularly prominent among African Americans. During the era of legalized slavery in the United States, it was common for white male slave owners to engage in sexual intercourse with black female slaves. The light-skinned offspring were the telltale signs of these unions that produced individuals with both African and European ancestry. The terms mulatto, quadroon, and octoroon were created to identify a person with one-half, one-fourth, and one-eighth African ancestry, respectively.

Slave owners did not acknowledge their mixed-race children as kinfolk officially; however, they awarded them privileges that dark-skinned slaves did not have. Typically, white plantation owners assigned dark-skinned slaves outside chores and/or the most physically demanding jobs in the fields, while they gave light-skinned slaves domestic chores in and around the house or gave them more esteemed positions than their darker counterparts. Therefore, light skin was viewed as an asset among the slave community.

White plantation owners’ preferential treatment of light-skinned black slaves created an internalized social hierarchy and division among slaves, signifying that one is superior to the other based on biological differences in skin color. This established mind-set among black slaves continued after emancipation and is still pervasive among blacks in the United States today.

Outside the United States, colorism may be related to class more than to white supremacy. Though European colonialism has left its mark globally, colorism is believed to predate European contact in various Asian countries. In such cases, the notion of white skin superiority may stem from the fact that people of the highest social classes had lighter skin than those of the lowest social classes. Working classes had darker skin due to the fact that they became suntanned as they labored outside daily. Upper classes had lighter complexions because they did not have to exert themselves in the sun daily. Consequently, dark skin was associated with the lower classes and light skin with the aristocrats. In contemporary Asian societies a preference for lighter skin remains prevalent. This partiality may be a result of past history and cultural influences of Western societies.

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