Jess Fraser

Mrs. James A2
Honors English 11
25 January 2018
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Racial Discrimination and Colorism

Racial Discrimination is a vice of the modern world that must be corrected, where as

colorism is an incredibly apparent force in the deeply rooted self esteem issues in our society. By

definition, racial discrimination is the belief in the superiority of one race over another while

colorism is the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a darker skin tone, typically

among people of the same ethnic or racial group. This is incredibly damaging to the way a

society functions. Racial Discrimination creates an environment that separates groups of people

that need to be connected, as opposed to colorism which separates groups into divided subparts,

makes a person feel as though who they are is not enough, and both racial discrimination and

colorism influence a breeding ground for the capitalistic marketing techniques for products and

services that are unnecessary.

“Black on black crime” is a term coined to justify various acts of violence against black

people. It is used especially to ensure people do not believe that police brutality is based on race,

and is instead, all killings are purely coincidental. According to a recent science experiment,

people tend to see their own race as an “ingroup”and another as “angry and aggressive”

(Culotta). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean racism, is “What we're arguing is a natural

preference for drawing ingroup-outgroup boundaries. It can be race, religion, nationality, dialect,

or arbitrary set differences,” but the part of it that causes problems is that “once those boundaries

are drawn, people like to discriminate across them” (Culotta). Race in and of itself is so complex

that the idea of not liking someone because of their skin color is almost offensive to America

because of how intertwined cultures have become. However, it is easier for people to justify their

actions of prejudice and discrimination because “a person’s skin color is an irrefutable visual fact

that is impossible to hide, whereas race is a constructed, quasi-scientific classification that is

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often only visible on a government form” (Tharps). By separating people based on race, it allows

for feelings of self-doubt to overtake the mindset of another human being.

Colorism belittles people of a certain race. Colorism has its roots in slavery. This is

because when the “Women slaves were raped by their owners; when a woman became pregnant

from these forced sexual encounters, they usually birthed lighter skin children. The lighter skin

children were then seen as a purer form of beauty and put on higher pedestal than their darker

counterparts” (Coward). This sort of favoritism that was shown causes jealousy from the darker

slaves, and a feeling of entitlement from the lighter. But, fact of the matter was that they were all

slaves. This feeling of entitlement and superiority feeded into the coloristic society because

“after a while, having lighter skin became an asset in American society, which it still stands

today” (Silvercloud). As a slave, accessing anything in your power to better yourself became a

need because during this point in history “we as a people were so disenfranchised that we

adopted some of that… a lot of that” (Whitewashing). These feelings of needing to prove

yourself to someone who is seen as racially superior makes the person who is inferior feel as

though they have to become like their superiors in order to feel successful in life;

Self-image issues in communities are directly related to the negative effects of colorism.

In a documentary entitled A Girl Like Me, a young girl writes that she “considered being lighter

as a form of beauty or… more beautiful than being dark skinned, so [she] used to think of myself

as being ugly because [she] was dark skinned.” Having this negative of a connection with

yourself allows you to become more vulnerable and capable of being manipulated. It creates a

feeling of being ostracized in a collective community. Having a basis in a group of friends of

different races and colors is beneficial to the development of a human character. The feelings of

self hatred goes as deep as the children in society. In the documentary Dark Girls, a young girl is
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seen in front of a camera, describing how she “does not feel beautiful because of her skin tone

and that the only women who are lighter than her are beautiful” (Dark Girls). The children in

society are adopting the broken cycle of colorism, and it is affecting their personal opinions on

themselves, and those around them. In some African cities, as many as 52-77% of women use

skin lighteners (Glenn, 284). This staggering statistic shows that there is an increase and high

rate of people dissatisfied with their skin tone, and wish to be lighter as to have an easier life.

However, what they don’t know is that the techniques and products they use are all specifically

catered at their insecurities.

In a capitalist society, it is necessary for consumers to purchase and receive goods.

Capitalism requires cheap labor to be exploited and for the products they create to be sold at

inflated rates. In American history, this system was able to thrive because of the use of slaves

and indentured servants, but because those don’t sound so pretty on paper, in today’s modern

ideology, they get their cheap labor from prisoners. In the 1970s, jobs were being outsourced and

wages were incredibly low, and thus the punishment for nonviolent offenses were exploited.

These “new laws were introduced that increased penalties for non-violent offenses. Enforcement

of these laws—primarily in poor communities of color—dispossessed large swaths of the poorest

and most disadvantaged groups of people” (Denson). This forced the now targeted and arrested

colored communities to work for $0.12-$0.40 per day, while still charging them fees for staying

in the very prison itself. Capitalism can only survive with a market system that sells products

that people want to buy, and capitalist leaders know that many Black girls “use images of Black

women as their source of comparison” (Gordon 247). They know that if the women they see in

the media are lighter, it will cause them to want to be lighter, and thus buy their skin lighteners.

The correlation between skin color and consumption of skin lighters has been proven. Studies
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show that “sociologists and anthropologists have documented discrimination against darker-

skinned persons” and that “people’s judgements about other people are colored by skin toned”

(Glenn 281). The idea of someone being seen as more trustworthy and kind because they are

lighter, feeds into the idea of separation between the races and causes discrimination within their

community. Charging money to targeted groups and then rewarding them in different ways based

on their appearance leaves a stain on their self esteem and makes their lives feel less valuable.

However, there are still people that don’t believe that this is an urgent issue that requires

a cultural change. David Clarke, an opinion writer for The Hill states that “systemic racism in

America is so rare today that some feel it necessary to make up stories to keep the lie about it

alive”. He believes in the liberal media trying to make “black supremacy” a ploy to undermine

the Trump administration. While Cord Jefferson from the American Renaissance believes in the

notion that Colorism is a fake ideology that was created to allow people to wallow in feelings of

self pity instead of working to get actual change accomplished. These are dangerous ideas

because they stop allowing black and other colored people the right to human emotions.

Emotions other than the stereotypical “mad black woman” are not as accepted because it does

not fit the small box people have allowed black women to fit inside.

Racial Discrimination and colorism are problems that stems from the brain, but are

manipulated by a society that benefits from insecurities. By thoroughly ingraining entitlement

and superiority in subdivided groups gives capitalist society members proper leverage over the

products that are bought. The only way to combat racial stigmas is by understanding and

identifying with privilege, and remembering not to get upset with those of a different skin color

or type, but to always understand that it is a mental manipulation. Stand stronger together, to

combat a society that feeds off of hatred insecurity. As a human being, allowing for everyone we
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encounter to feel like they belong should be a goal people strive for to better themselves

everyday.

Works Cited

Brinson, Cooper, and Charles Denson. "Prison & Capitalism." CLDC. N.p., 10 Oct. 2016. Web.

22 Jan. 2018.

Clarke, David. "Systemic Racism Is so Rare in America, the Media Just Can't Stop Lying about

It." The Hill. Capitol Hill, 13 Nov. 2017. Web. 10 Jan. 2018

Coward, Mia. "Light Skin, Dark Skin: Colorism in the Black Community." Moyoliving.

The Upper Room, n.d. Web. 20 December 2017.

Culotta, Elizabeth. "Roots of Racism." Science. American Association for the Advancement of
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Science, 18 May 2012. Web.

Dirs. Bill Duke, D. Chanson Berry. Dark Girls. Urban Winter Entertainment and Duke

Media Production, 2011. Film.

Davis, Kiri. A Girl Like Me. 2005. Film.

Glenn, E. N. Yearning for Lightness Transnational circuits in the Marketing and

Consumption of Skin Lightner's. Gender & Society. 283-284.

Gordon, Maya K. “Media Contributions To African American Girls’ Focus On Beauty

And Appearance: Exploring The Consequences Of Sexual Objectification” Psychology

Of Women Quarterly 32.3 (2008): 245-256. Women’s Studies International. Web. 11

Apr. 2012.

Jefferson, Cord. "The Stupidity of Black "Colorism"." American Renaissance. N.p., 01

June 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2018.

Silvercloud, Johnny. "Colorism Is a Big Problem in America." Onyx Truth. N.p., 07 Apr. 2015.

Web. 20 December 2017.

Tharps, Lori L. "The Difference Between Racism and Colorism." Time. Time, 06 Oct.

2016. Web. 25 December 2017

”Whitewashing” in Mass Media: Exploring Colorism and the Damaging Effects of

Beauty Hierarchies." Race and Technology. N.p., 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 December 2017