Sleweon1

Gemille Sleweon
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
02/16/2014
Youth & the Color Complex
Introduction/Overview
Colorism can be described as discrimination with in a culture or group of people based on
skin complexion and/or hair type. It can be traced back to slavery, but is still very relevant in the
black community today. Back in the slave days, lighter skinned blacks were the off springs of a
white slave master and their black slave. Since they were partially of white race and whites were
seen as superior, they were looked at as better than darker skinned blacks. Although
overtime this stigma has changed, the basic connotation still remains, light is right and dark is
bad. Colorism is a prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on
their color as described by American author Alice Walker who coined the term colorism.
To research my topic, I have read various articles and databases through the UNC
Charlotte library as well as a book called The Color Complex which explores how western
standards of beauty influence discrimination with in cultures. I was also able to access a journal
from Duke University Law Scholarship Repository on color. I have begun interviewing students
around campus on the topic by asking them various questions on how they feel about the skin
stigma.
A lot of people are on the fence about my topic. They know that colorism is
discrimination and that it needs to end however, it has become a part of their lives. A lot of young
men and women are so consumed by the color complex, they use it to evaluate the people they
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date. They believe that certain stereotypes fit certain skin complexions to the point where they
are no longer stereotypes. To them, they are facts. In Light Girls, a documentary that aired on
The Oprah Winfrey Network(OWN) and the sequel to the 2011 documentary Dark Girls,
explores some of the adversities black women with lighter and darker complexions have faced.
The documentaries showcases real women as they share the stories of how they have been
stereotyped and mistreated by the people in their own communities based on their skin color.
Some sources I used to research my topic are:

Duke.edu

Umaryland.edu

Library.uncc.edu

The Color Complex(book)- Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson, Ronald Hall

Dark Girls(documentary)

Light Girls (documentary)

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

Is colorism the remnants of slavery? How are young black women affected by colorism?
How are young black men affected by colorism?

My Interest in this Topic

I am interested in this topic because I am a young woman of color who has been affected
by the modern day color complex. I see my peers use the different stereotypes regarding color to
define themselves. It is almost like we are oppressing ourselves. Although slavery is over in the
United States, and we have come a long, long way, colorism is still very relevant in the black
community. The effects of slavery still live on today, and I want to address the problem in order
to solve it.
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1. I know that colorism can be traced back to slavery in the United States. Darker
skinned blacks were more likely to work in the field known as field slaves
while lighter skinned blacks worked in the house known as house slaves.
Lighter skinned slaves were the result of slaves who were raped by their white
masters. They are known as mulattos, a media created and over sexualized
stereotype. Many of these illegitimate mixed raced children were ostracized by
both their white family and black family. They were seen as not white enough by
the whites, and not black enough by the blacks which resulted in identity issues.
Since this was a time in America where whites were seen as superior, many of
the lighter skinned blacks tried to gain white privileges since they could
sometimes pass for white. This added more fuel to the fire because black began to
look at mixed race people as thinking they were better than their fully black
counterparts. This is most likely where the stereotype that light skinned blacks are
stuck up came from. Because of their dark skin and distance from the European
beauty aesthetic, dark skinned blacks were seen as ugly and savage. A stereotype
that is still around today.
2. I hope to learn more about how each stereotype got started and why we still use
them today.

Next Steps
I will use the internet to access more articles and research studies through data bases to
broaden my research. I will also continue to do my own research by interviewing my peers and
get their views and stances on colorism.