Sneering snares, acidic attitudes, rude remarks, ill-mannered interjections, critical comments, appalling assertions: all are signs of discriminatory beliefs. Discrimination is created from various factors, one of which being colorism.
Oxford Languages defines colorism as: “Prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.” What’s more, skin tone is not the only feature scrutinized by colorism. Sarah Webb, a middle school teacher, brought up how hair texture, eye color, nose shape or lip size are also associated with colorism in her article Recognizing and Addressing Colorism in Schools.
Michael Davidson, a Mexican and German-American senior at Liberty, shared that his experience with colorism began with other Mexicans. In elementary school, Mexican people would assume he did not understand Spanish and would make comments about how his mom had “white kids,” and his classmates would make fun of him for speaking Spanish or embracing his culture. In middle school, Davidson remarked, “Kids my age would always make jokes because I was too white. Too white for the brown kids, too brown for the white kids.” Although no two experiences are the same, other students have experienced
colorism or racism too.
Hannah Grossetete, a bi-racial junior at Liberty, recalled that when she was between 6 and 7 years old, she was at the neighborhood pool with her fully Mexican dad. A white woman asked her if she was safe, if she had been kidnapped, because she did not believe that a fair-skinned little girl could be her fathers' daughter. The woman threatened to call the police, so Grossetete and her dad left. When recounting her experience, Grossetete said she remembers “weird things” like that happened frequently when she was
growing up.
Colorism stems from a combination of various factors, such as one's cultural beliefs, social beliefs, personal opinion, experiences (including witnessing or being subject to discrimination), and exposure to racism. Due to the prevalence of racism in society, racist thoughts may become internalized, also known as internalized racism. The Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) describes internalized racism as, “The internalization of the racist stereotypes, values, image and ideologies perpetuated by the white
dominant society about one’s racial group.”
Colorist and racist convictions belonging to students and/or educators transfer to school settings where the beliefs may have negative consequences. Students may contribute to the spread of colorism through comments about their peers while an educator may contribute through their treatment and/or attitude towards students from certain ethnic groups.
Webb brings to light that both students and educators contribute to the proliferation of colorism by remaining silent since, “Silence condones, validates and sustains colorism...”. By keeping quiet or ignoring colorist comments and/or actions towards students, educators and students alike unintentionally condone the harmful words or actions.
The four strategies Web proposed intended to help address colorism in school are: providing targeted counseling and meditation, providing ongoing mentorship, monitoring school and classroom discipline, and committing to a culturally relevant curriculum. The strategies are meant to guide students in realizing that, although they have the right to believe what they want, their actions and words may have negative consequences. By providing guidance and expanding students’ cultural knowledge, unnecessary harm will not occur in schools.
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