Is Being a Lighter Skinned African American Favored/beneficial in Society?

Cameron Sanders

Mr. Parker

English Comp

10-30-14

Is being a lighter skinned African American favored/beneficial in society?

It’s true that the African American community has come a long way since the 1950’s, but there is still oppression and racism present within the black community itself. The favoritism of lighter skin African Americans over darker skin African Americans have been going on for quite some time now. If you look in the media like on magazines and models for department stores and such, you will notice that if there is a black person that he or she will probably be lighter. For some reason being lighter is looked at as being less intimidating and less dangerous and to some, to be more attractive. I am here to prove that light skinned African Americans are treated better than a darker skinned African American and have more opportunities in the business world, the legal system, media, etc.

If you pay attention to famous actresses, singers, and other famous women in the media you will notice that they are usually fairer than your average black woman. Usually these women did not start out the color they are now or they could still be darker but the use of makeup and lights will make them appear lighter. Some of these women will even go as far as bleaching their skin, a very dangerous act that can cause skin cancer, just to be accepted in society. For example a famous pop singer in Nigeria by the name of Denicia released a product called “Whitenisious” which removes dark spots and lightens skins in only 7 days. The product sold out in 24 hours which isn’t surprising given that 77 percent of Nigerian women (and many men) use some form of lightening product. The singer has been criticized both for promoting the dangerous practice of skin bleaching, and for her appearance in the accompanying advertisement, where she appears to have either been photo shopped white or undergone radical skin bleaching.(Ruby Hamad, Daily life) It’s sad that a person should want to do harm to their skin just to be accepted by society and not to be looked down upon, but it’s a sad reality that isn’t just in the U.S. but all over the world.

Skin color also plays a dominate role in the legal system. When people see someone that is darker they usually associate them with being violent, angry, more aggressive, and with those assumptions they tend to pin crimes on innocent people out of fear and prejudice. When you see someone of a lighter skin tone you may not see them as threatening but maybe as harmless and maybe innocent. Most religions, including Christianity, associate light with purity and innocence and darker colors like black with evil, mystery and anger. A study in North Carolina proves that people with lighter skin, even if they are the same race, are given better treatment in the legal system. The study, which sampled over 12,000 black women imprisoned in North Carolina between 1995 and 2009, showed that light-skinned women were sentenced to 12 percent less time behind bars than their darker-skinned counterparts. The results also showed that having light skin reduces the actual time served by 11 percent. {Terrell Jermaine Starr, News One, Dec 21, 2011.}

Even the media portrays darker skin as more menacing and violent and having a lighter skin tone with beauty and elegance. For example in the heat of the famous OJ Simpson, the trial where famous football player OJ Simpson was accused of brutally killing his wife and her friend, Time magazine had OJ Simpson on the cover with a sinister smile and his face had been darkened and the area around him was black as well. OJ Simpson is at least ten shades lighter than he was on that cover, but darkening his face definitely made him look more demented and threatening. The media definitely knew what they were doing by evoking fear from their audience and getting them to believe that he might actually be capable of committing the crime. He wouldn’t have fit the stereotypical criminal profile if the magazine hadn’t edited him and Time magazine knew that once they edited him to be what people wanted him to be seen as, that he would fit the bill of a dangerous, deranged, violent, black male.

Even when it comes to finding a job the lightness/darkness of someone’s skin will play a huge role in the hiring process which is very sad to me that we still live in a country where we are judged by our appearance and not by our ability to perform a task you are qualified for. I believe that if your experience and work ethic is there it shouldn’t matter what you look like, there is no bill to fit when it comes to being a working citizen. An example of skin color playing a role in careers and employment is from a 2006 University of Georgia study that showed that “employers prefer light-skinned black men to dark-skinned men, regardless of their qualifications. 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,” said by {  Matthew S. Harrison in 2006} The same thing also happens to black women except darker women aren’t counted out completely. Matthew Harrison studies say that,” For female applicants, “If the credentials were different, in the case of women, the more qualified or experienced darker-skinned woman got it, but if the qualifications were identical, the lighter-skinned woman was preferred.” Some researchers even term dark-skinned Black women as being in a "triple-jeopardy" situation because of their gender, race, and skin tone, where all three aspects can have negative and harmful implications on their occupational opportunities, not to mention, overall feelings of competency (Thompson & Keith, 2001).