African Americans[edit]
History[edit]
European colonialism created a system of
white supremacy and racist
ideology, which led to a structure of domination that privileged whiteness over blackness. Biological differences in skin color were used as a justification for the enslavement and oppression of Africans, developing a social hierarchy that placed whites at the top and blacks at the bottom. The desire to rise out of this lower position ultimately caused internalized divisions among African Americans.
[42]
Miscegenation, the mixing of different racial groups (commonly through the sexual exploitation of black female slaves by white male slave owners and, after emancipation, black female prostitutes exchanging sex for money with white male customers) resulted in a large number of mixed race individuals with both African and European ancestry. Terminology was also developed to distinguish various levels of African ancestry. The terms
mulatto,
quadroon and
octoroon were used to identify a black person with one-half, one-fourth and one-eighth of African ancestry, respectively.
[43] Slaves with lighter complexion were allowed to engage in less strenuous tasks, like domestic duties, while the darker slaves participated in hard labor, which was more than likely outdoors.
[44] A partial white heritage also gave light-skinned blacks more economic value and caused them to be viewed as smarter and superior to dark-skinned blacks, allowing more advantages in a white-dominated society, such as broader opportunities for education and the acquisition of land and property.
[45]
To prevent any confusion in regard to racial classification and to prohibit blacks with white ancestry from gaining the same legal status as full-blooded whites, the rule of hypo-descent, or the "
one-drop rule" was mandated. According to the “one-drop rule," even the smallest amount of African ancestry (or a drop of African blood) legally defined a person as black.
[46] After the abolition of slavery in 1865, however, colorism created an internalized structure of hierarchy and division within the black community, as lighter-skinned blacks began to set themselves apart by socializing, marrying and procreating with one another. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, separatist standards, such as the
brown paper bag, comb, pencil, and flashlight tests began to be implemented. Also,
exclusionary social clubs and societieswere developed to create color divisions within black America that would shape socially constructed ideas about skin color.
[47]