Color-ism by Jordan Henry

I really like the group who did their research project on the term “color-ism”.  The group stated the color-ism is thought as racism within a race.  They said in the African American community, the issue seems to stem around “light skin” and “dark skin.” The group said that society has builded on this idea that beauty is associated with how long a person’s hair is or how light their complexion is.  They claimed how the black community has really bought into this idea throughout.  The majority of black men tend to be attracted to light skinned woman and black woman seem to be attracted to men who have a light complexion.  They proved this theory, by going around the university and interviewing different students on film.  They presented the videos to class and most of the students tended to favor “light skin.”

                Before this group’s presentation, I was aware of the racism within the black race.  I was already exposed to the stigma in the black community over complexion, but I was unaware that the word color-ism was the term used to describe it.  This was the first time I’ve heard of color-ism.  Personally I feel like black people are beautiful regardless of skin complexion.   This definitely became more apparent once I started attending Howard University.   I’ve seen all types of black people whether they are tall, short, light, and dark, bald, thick or skinny.  I think it is truly sad that the black community punishes itself with color-ism.  I feel like it is the cause of some self hated that continues today in the black community.  Black people need to begin to carry themselves with pride and really show society why black is beautiful.