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Colorism

In: Other Topics

Submitted By Mihalecj
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Colorism: The present reality and its continuing impact on the Black community

Purpose Statement/Theses
To bring awareness of “Colorsim” to the community and educators of young black Americans; this practice of self oppression within the black community is often overlooked and is an internal form of racism causing continued hindrance to progression of the black community in society.
Statement of Qualification:
This topic wasn’t as important to me until I watched the episode on CNN titled “Who is Black in America?” by Soledad O’Brien. I am a dark skinned black man married to a white woman, we have three bi-racial children; one son age three and two girls ages eight and five. I grew up in Alabama where race is always an issue and colorsim as it is defined is normal in the black community. It never seemed as important to me until watching the episode and reflecting on how it will and may already impact my children and their future.
Tentative Argument:
Colorism is based on the skin tone rather than actual racial or ethnic identity. This practice developed during slavery as a method to place a value on ones skin tone. The use of colorsim set an internal superiority amongst slaves [ (Hunter, 2007) ]. This practice has carried on through generations and is learned by young black adolescents. The practice of colorsim favors lighter skin over darker skin [ (International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, 2012) ]. Colorism is a common setback within the black community which is evidenced through history. According to International Encyclopedia of social sciences (2008) such groups existed as the Blue Vein Society, a black-created social club which excluded darker skinned blacks because you could not see their veins through the skin. We have all heard of the paper bag test where you had to put your skin up to the bag; if it was darker than the bag you

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