What Is Colourism?

My name is Don John and I am a Race & Diversity Consultant. I have been working in this field for over 40 years and labels as to how to describe me vary from the overly polite to the scandalously brutal and But if you were to describe me as Black I would be very comfortable with that……but you would be surprised at the number of black people who do not want to be described as black and in a strange way it connects to this issue. During the time I was growing up the description of Blackness oscillated from “Shame” to “Pride” depending on your condition and the variety of shades in between Black and White were widely and differently interpreted.

 The aim of this exhibition, supported by Arts Council England, is to explore the issue of Colourism/Shadism which has had a more profound impact on life and culture than many presume or want to own up to, and this issue impacts very differently for Black communities, White communities, and Mixed-Race communities.

 The exhibition is called “A Study in Colourism” and this is an issue that has fascinated me for many years. In 1998 I made a film called “Shadism: The Politics of Complexion” which examined the issue mainly from a Black women’s perspective….. Back in the day , we used to call Colourism “Shadism” but in the more recent times it has become known as “Colourism”. For those who do not know Shadism/Colourism” is the value we attach to people of different complexions and for what it’s worth “Shadism” seems to be a more accurate description of this issue…. And in the film we investigated a local chemist that was selling skin lightening products and heard stories, from local people, of children who tried to bleach their skins because they did not want to be Black and sadly society has developed more sophisticated ways of lightening our skins other than bleach. Some argue that his was a consequence of Black people associating the colour Black with negative images and concepts generated by White communities.  

 Colonialism has certainly played its part in generating beliefs that the lighter skin you have the closer you are to "civilisation", a euphemistic term for European and this, of course, was an attempt to sympathetically contextualise slavery. We must appreciate that White people did not call themselves White people until they encountered people of other complexions, and they attached a value to themselves to justify their distinction and assumptions of superiority.

The education systems across the world have played their part in carrying this message all over the globe so that those who have never met Black people are already steered towards the stereotypical concepts about Blackness.  Shadism/Colourism still lurks in the collective consciousness of Black people…..and many White people if they own up must admit how western culture has influenced their thinking about dark skins and light skins. Even within families, judgments and values are made regarding siblings and how their lightness or darkness will be a benefit or disadvantage in future life and such observations have a deep effect on their perceptions about themselves. Girls and women in western society are deeply influenced regarding the norms of beauty which favour lighter complexions. The other dynamic is whether some of a lighter complexion benefit at the expense of those of a darker complexion without acknowledging those benefits…..Is there such a thing as “Colourism Privilege”?

I guess that I was first exposed to this issue when as a child I saw my mother sitting at her dressing table applying her make up and there was this little blue and white tube called Artra: Skin lightening cream and little did I know that it contained amounts of hydroquinone which could be harmful. Of course, the argument was that it was used to even out skin tones but very often was used to lighten dark patches of skin…..and that thinking can take you to a strange place….and it does beg the question what do you consider to be “Dark”…..and this can vary from one culture to the next.

Now some of you may ask what is the difference between Racism & Colourism. Most of us are aware broadly as to what Racism is and crudely it is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity and colourism is that discrimination and prejudice perpetrated on the basis of someone’s complexion. The impact of colonialism which handed down these perverted beliefs to Black people from one generation to the next became firmly invested in the beliefs and behaviours of Black people which still exists today.

The slave trade imposed a hierarchical structure where those who were lighter skinned and closer to the complexion of the slave masters, as a consequence of involuntary miscegenation, were more trusted and were given better tasks than those of a darker complexion who worked the fields and were given much more back breaking work. Sadly, the tradition of those of a lighter complexion being more trustworthy and superior has seeped into the consciousness of Black and White communities and, in many instances, has been handed down from one generation to the next .

Clearly the manner in which Black images have been portrayed in the West tells us that choices are made regarding the selections made about the complexion of people whose origins are from the African continent, and fashion and the media have played their part in popularising certain characteristics and imbuing certain complexions with notions of either beauty, unattractiveness, trustworthiness and untrustworthiness.

A classic example of Colourism is the Brown Paper Bag Test which is a term in African American oral history used to describe a racist discriminatory practice within the African American community in the 20th century, in which an individual’s skin tone is compared to the colour of a Brown paper bag. The test was used to determine what privileges an individual could have; only those with a skin colour that matched or was lighter than a brown paper bag were allowed admission or membership privileges. The test was believed by many to be used in the 20th century by many African American social institutions such as sororities, fraternities, and social clubs. People were barred from having access to several public spaces and resources because of their darker complexion. The test was used at the entrance to social functions wherein a brown paper bag was stuck at the door and anyone who was darker than the bag was denied entry. I suppose the question is whether Black and White communities make judgments about the suitability of people based on the complexion of their skin….and whether there is a little brown paper bag in their subconscious.

It is anticipated that whatever discipline we come from either professional or personal, this issue will have a connection that will compel us to further our thinking on matters that we once took for granted. Colourism lurks in the collective consciousness of Black people and the conscience of many White communities and further exposure to this issue can only create a greater understanding of who we are.

So, what can we learn from this? Firstly, the amount of melanin in somebody’s skin does not necessarily contribute to their ideological Blackness and we have seen many circumstances where lighter skinned Black people have been more radical than their darker brother and sisters and you only have to look at Malcolm X and Bob Marley to bear witness to that.

Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood and social media across the world are significant agents in driving the myth of dark skin and light skin and this will not change in the near future but if we refuse to discuss this phenomenon we will increasingly buy into this narrative as those with darker skins in the western world become a more maligned minority within a minority already facing challenges.

Don John Director/Curator: A Study in Colourism