Color Crit: Critical Race Theory and the History and Future of Colorism in the United States

Abstract

Critical race theory teaches that racism and racial inequality are constants in American society that stand outside of the prejudices of individuals. It argues that structures and institutions are primarily responsible for the maintenance of racial inequality. However, critical race theorists have neglected to formally examine and theorize colorism, a primary offshoot of racial domination. Although studies of colorism have become increasingly common, they lack a unifying theoretical framework, opting to lean on ideas about prejudice and preference to explain the advantages lighter skinned, Black Americans are afforded relative to darker skinned Black Americans. In this study, I deploy a critical race framework to push back against preference as the only, or primary, mechanism facilitating skin tone stratification. Instead, I use historical Census data and regression analysis to explore the historical role of color-based marriage selection on concentrating economic advantage among lighter skinned Black Americans. I then discuss the policy and legal implications of developing a structural view of colorism and skin tone stratification in the United States and the broader implications for how we conceptualize race in this country.

“Oh, You’re Pretty for a Dark-Skinned Girl”: Black Adolescent Girls’ Identities and Resistance to Colorism

“…With the persistence of anti-blackness today, colorism is both a byproduct and facilitator of the racial hierarchy that manifests within racial minority groups. As a result, Black people with a darker skin tone are positioned subordinate to lighter-skinned Black people within the racial hierarchy (Hunter, 2007; Reece, 2019). Importantly, colorism is a process that exists and functions to serve white supremacy and thus acts as an ideology or belief system that privileges physical appearance that approximates whiteness.…”

The colorist-historical trauma framework: Implications for culturally responsive practice with African Americans

“…Clinical practitioners aware of the colorist-historical trauma framework could incorporate awareness of mass group-level trauma as well as individual-level traumatic experiences with colorism as part of client's background assessment (Hall, 2009(Hall, , 1992. By acknowledging African American clients' experiences of colorism and colorist microaggressions, practitioners could establish rapport and trauma recovery (Nadal et al, 2014;Reece, 2018).…”

The Future of American Blackness: On Colorism and Racial Reorganization

“…However, a growing number of studies show that racial categorization can be fickle. People can experience changes in racial categorization as they progress over the life course and/or as they move through various social contexts, such as between school and home (Alba et al, 2016;Bratter & O'Connell, 2017;Harris & Sim, 2002;Holloway et al, 2009;Liebler et al, 2017;Liebler & Zacher, 2016;Mason, 2017;Reece, 2019aReece, , 2019bReece, , 2019cSaperstein & Penner, 2010. These microlevel racial shifts show that race is not as neat as Americans often imagine, and pave the way to interrogate, and possibly predict, macrolevel changes in the racial structure.…”