History of Colorism

Colorism: The discrimination or oppression of people based on their skin color. Different from racism but similar. You can still be the same race as someone but be treated differently due to your skin complexion — that is colorism. By having a lighter complexion, you fit into the beauty norm that conforms to European features, so even if you do not identify as white or have any white ancestry, you still gain some privilege by resembling a whiter complexion.

But before we delve into this topic, let’s answer a few overarching questions. Why is colorism even a thing? How do we even know it’s real?

Well, colorism dates back to colonialism yet it remains relevant to this day. The whiter you were (the more white blood you inherited), the whiter you looked, therefore you received more social advantages. This is exemplified in several social pyramids (ex. Mulattoes and Mestizos). These social pyramids were created by colonizers in order to equate whiteness to power and desirability. This ideology is present in the Brown Paper Bag test. During the 1900s, in New Orleans, black people had to pass a test in which their skin color was required to be lighter than the color of a brown paper bag in order to gain socio-economic privileges and power. Even more recently, in 2013, Nayara Justino, the first dark-skinned woman ,with strong African features, to be crowned the Globeleza carnival queen (a carnival that is televised all throughout Brazil), was stripped of the title because many thought she was “too black”, therefore, undesirable. As you can see, light skin privilege is still relevant today.

When you are lighter skinned, you are given more advantages when it comes to housing, education, representation, income, incarceration, and even mental health. Colonization has led us to believe that having a lighter complexion deems one to be more worthy. Although it’s been more than 500 years since colonialism has occurred, colonizers have left such a huge imprint on society. In many countries, whiteness is still placed on a pedestal. The very own skin color of the people who impinged upon cultural communities are still celebrated and placed on a pedestal. Below that pedestal, lays one of many unspoken prejudices: colorism.