Colorism Creating a Racial Divide in the African...

During the mid-twentieth century African Americans were at the lowermost tier of societys hierarchy. However within the black race, there was a further social division between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned African Americans. A black individual with more Caucasian features signified high status and beauty which was sought after by members of the African American community (Dibleck). In Zora Neale Hurstons novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author uses Janie Crawford to depict how colorism affected African Americans on both sides of the skin color spectrum. By demonstrating the attitude society (mostly men) had towards skin color, the author displays the realities of being an African American in the early 1900s and the deep†¦show more content†¦If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be compatible with the white female standard of beauty (Ashe 580) in o rder to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of sociohistorical racial injustices (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat easy coexistence because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a pervasive hierarchy of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312). In Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston demonstrates color favoritism regarding Janie Crawfords mixed raced appearance by illustrating the sociopolitical perks of being an African American individual with white features. Due to Janie Crawfords three quarters CaucasianShow MoreRelatedLight Skin Is The Right Skin907 Words   |  4 Pagesdidn’t really have a name; however, it found a way to divide and conquer black women with the brown paper bag test, segregated sororities, and preferential media exposure. It was a black girl problem in America, but especially a dark skinned black girl problem and the benefitting parties never spoke on it since such social caste systems elevated their privilege. In contemporary America, it has only become more apparent that it is issues such as colorism that further hinder Black America’s ability to solidifyRead MoreThe Biracial Dilemm A Study At Howard University972 Words   |  4 Pagesbiracial Americans who, at one time or another, felt as though they did not belong to either culture. These feelings have been brought on, over time, by the way, America, although believed to be a â€Å"melting pot† of cultures, often wants people to categorize themselves as one ethnicity and the pressure placed on Americans to solely identify with one race divides the country more than anything else. The only way to rectify this problem is for Americans to stop separating themselves into racial categoriesRead MoreThe African American And Hispanic Community Essay2393 Words   |  10 Pagestremendous improvement it still has not done enough to say that we are all equal in society. The African Americans community and Hispanic community are very inferior to the Caucasian community. Society has made it very clear about how they feel about the African American and Hispanic community. The media, television, education is very stereotypical on the â€Å"inferior† communities. The media have depicted African Americans as ghetto, uneducated, Drug Lords, crack victims and classless. Hispanics are depictedRead MoreThe Bluest Eyes By Toni Morriss1592 Words   |  7 Pagescharacter Pecola has issues with self love and her image. She craves nothing more then to have blue eyes. She feels she will be likes if she has blue eyes, that her life will be better with them. Blue eyes can be seen as a metaphors for colorism in the black community. How black women fell that being white will make us pretty, how we are told that if we had a certain found on someone with white skin we would be seen as appealing. The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most