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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
WA #7
Draft #3
14 December 2015
Micaja Verna
Colorism in the American Workplace
When studying the history of African Americans in the United States, the topic of racism
is commonly brought up and discussed. Although racism is a prominent issue in the US,
colorism is a serious issue that is often overlooked and mistaken for racism. Colorism is defined
by the Oxford Dictionaries as “prejudice or discrimination against individuals of a darker skin
tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.” As a young child I was a victim
of colorism; many of the other children in my class who were lighter in skin color made fun and
teased children with darker skin tone. As I got older I saw colorism manifested in many different
ways. There were social parties where a requirement to get in was to be light-skinned, and also
my peers deciding that light skin is more attractive than darker skin.
Colorism has affected the socioeconomic status of darker-skinned Americans. Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (see appendix) prohibits employers from discriminating against
employees based on race, religion, sex, or national origin; despite this law, my research reveals
that darker-skinned Americans have a harder time finding work even when they are more
qualified than their lighter-skinned counterparts. Prejudice against them has inhibited their
abilities to move forward in higher positions such as elected office and office promotions.
Donnamarie Culbreth discusses the origins of colorism in her thesis Employment
discrimination in the 21st century: An Empirical Investigation of the Presence of Intraracial
Colorism Discrimination Among Black Americans in the Workplace. She explains how the
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
history of colorism is traced back to slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. In slavery, slave
owners believed that lighter skinned African Americans were more trustworthy and more like
them so these African Americans were put to work in the house and were given less hard labor
work than the dark-skinned slaves. This was the initiation of the disconnect and preference of
lighter-skinned individuals in American history. After the ending of slavery came the civil rights
movement in which all African Americans were searching for work and equality. Despite new
laws on racism, colorism was overlooked and not addressed.
New York Times journalist Brent Staples recalls his upbringing in the 1950s and 1960s
and the advertisements requiring lighter skin as a qualification. “In the ‘situations wanted’
section, for example, cooks, chauffeurs and waitresses sometimes listed ‘light colored’ as the
primary qualification — ahead of experience, references, and the other important data.” Staples
notes that descriptions like this were the norm at that time. Now, in 2015, colorism isn't so
bluntly advertised in the daily newspaper, but it is still something that people in high-powered
positions may prefer. This inhibits darker-skinned African Americans from advancing
professionally.
Colorism is still prevalent, even fifty years after Brent Staples’s experience. Many
studies have been conducted examining the effects of colorism today, from how it affects the
sentencing of African American males in prison to the outcome of public elections. Matthew
Harrison, while in a doctoral program at the University of Georgia, conducted a study examining
the effects of colorism in the American workplace. Harrison gathered 240 undergraduate
students at the University of Georgia. Each student was asked to rate one of two resumes that
came with three pictures of people varying from light skin to dark skin. Harrison described his
results as follows:
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
The findings in this study are, tragically, not too surprising, … We
found that a light-skinned black male can have only a bachelor’s degree
and typical work experience and still be preferred over a dark-skinned black
male with an MBA and past managerial positions, simply because expectations of
the light- skinned black male are much higher, and he doesn’t appear as
“menacing” as the darker-skinned male applicant.
Harrison’s results indicate that workplace colorism is a serious and prominent issue which
should be addressed. The darker-skinned individuals are placed in an unfortunate position which
is out of their control. Harrison continues to discuss the implications of his results by examining
the workforce in general. He notes that eradicating colorism may lead to higher percentages of
African Americans in high managerial positions, such as CEOs and CFOs.
Similar to Harrison, Cynthia Sims, chair and associate professor at Southern Illinois
University, has conducted a study exposing the discrimination of dark-skinned workers. She
recruited ten African American adults of different skin tones from the Chicago chapter of the
Black Data Processing Associates. The participants, five men and five women, described their
skin complexion and also heard how others described them. They varied in skin tone from light
to dark, education, salary, employment, and age. Each was then interviewed, once with a tape
recorder and then without it. As their conversation became more casual, interviewees described
specific incidents of colorism they have witnessed:
They believed that light-skinned African Americans “get the benefit of the doubt”
(Participant M), and “are often seen as being more capable” (Participant D) and
“more professional” (Participant M). Participant A, a previous corporate America
employee, said, “If you’re being interviewed for a position, in house, . . . you will
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
have . . . basically the same race going for the same position, but . . . most of the
time, the person of [a] lighter shade would get the position.” (10)
Sims allowed for her participants to become comfortable and feel they were in a safe place to
discuss many of the serious issues that they had noticed in their work fields. Her participants
opened up about how these actions of colorism were affecting them. They described feeling
oppressed and stagnant in their job. Although darker-skinned participants felt this way they had
not realized that the same feeling was reciprocated on light-skinned African Americans. They
described feelings of hatred and exclusion from the other blacks at their jobs.
Sim’s study shows that although darker-skinned Americans are discriminated against
more broadly than light-skinned Americans, lighter-skinned Americans, too, feel the disconnect
and lack of communication in the race. The participants discussed a feeling of wanting to speak
out against colorism but being afraid of the consequences.
The potential of darker-skinned individuals has not been fully acknowledged due to many
of the coloristic barriers they face. Colorism affects every field, and darker-skinned Americans
carry it throughout their careers. Professor at Harvard University Jennifer L. Hochschild and her
assistant Vesla Weaver examined colorism in their article “The Skin Color Paradox and the
American Racial Order” and determined “Though it is mostly covert, our society has developed
an extremely sophisticated, and often denied, acceptability index based on gradations in skin
color ().” Hochschild and Weaver continue to address the confusion between racism and
colorism. They explain that the lack of knowledge on this topic has led to accusations of racial
discrimination which have actually been colorism. She continues to claim even that had
President Barack Obama had darker-skin, he would not have been elected.
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
Colorism in the workplace has been an issue which for many years and has gone
unnoticed. It has made it harder for darker-skinned Americans to move toward better futures for
themselves and receive full equality. It should frighten people today that many of the ideologies
that originated in slavery are still prevalent today. Darker-skinned Americans have been placed
at a disadvantage and it should concern all Americans that a select group of people face harder
struggles based solely on the stereotypes associated with their skin color. My research has shown
references to colorism as many forms, “Trickle-down racism” and “the other side of racism.”
These terms show the close relation of colorism and racism. Although colorism and racism are
different, their effects on people are the same. They invoke a sense of inferiority based on a
condition that the individual cannot change. Sim’s study introduced a solution to eradicating
colorism. The “Cycle of Silence” she explained as a cycle of “ignorance" and “lack of scope and
inclusivity” has allowed colorism to prosper with the African American community. Sims
believes that once this cycle is broken, colorism will be eradicated and no longer be a mode of
subtle oppression.
Harrison, Sims, Hochschild, and Weaver all presented different opinions and analyses of
how colorism in the workplace affects darker-skinned Americans. My research has led me to
believe that Matthew Harrison’s analysis is most informative, not only as providing a
background on how colorism has been overlooked throughout history but also on his research
about how extensive it is in our society today. Although Sims’s, Harrison’s and Weaver’s studies
were similar, I believe that Harrison’s specifically requesting his participants to hire one of the
individuals presented a more concrete representation of colorism.
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
Works Cited
“Colorism.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2015. oxforddictionaries.com.Web.
31 Oct. 2015.
Culbreth, Donnamaria. Employment Discrimination in the 21st Century: An Empirical
Investigation of the Presence of Intraracial Colorism Discrimination Among
Black Americans in the Workplace. Diss. Ann Arbor: Capella UP, 2006. Print.
Harrison, Matthew. “Skin Tone More Important Than Educational Background for African
Americans Seeking Jobs.” The Multicultural Advantage. Coverage Media. Web.
28 Oct. 2015
Hoschchild, Jennifer L., and Vesla Weaver. “The Skin Color Paradox and the American Racial
Order.” Social Forces. Dec. 2007. 86(2). 643-670. Web
Sims, Cynthia. “The Impact of African American Skin Tone Bias in the Workplace:
Implications for Critical Human Resource Development.” Online Journal of
Workforce Education and Development, (3)4. 2009.
Staples, Brent. “As Racism Wanes, Colorism Persists.” New York Times. New York Times, 22
Aug. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
United States. Department of State. Congress. 78th ed. Vol. Public Law 88-352. Washington:
n.p., 1964. STAT 241. National Archives Catalog. Web.
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According to 3 sources, how does colorism affect people with dark skin tone in the workplace, and whose analysis do I find most informative?
Appendix
Sec. 703. (a) It shall be unlawful employment practice for an employer—
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise to
discriminate any individual with respect to his compensation, terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment, because of individual’s race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin; or
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive
or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or
otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such
individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
(b) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employment agency to fail or
refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against, any
individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or to classify or
refer for employment any individual on the basis of his race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin.
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