Dark skinned and light skinned blacks have battled each other since the American slavery era; this division has fueled African-American cultural movements, societal achievements, and economic systems. Light skinned blacks have undoubtedly maintained the hypothetical lead, receiving the upper hand in American slavery and the post Reconstruction era. However, dark skinned blacks made slight gains from the 1920’s to the 1960’s.
In order to further assert white dominance, slaveholders annihilated African ethnic identities. Slaves were instead classified them as tools to be used by whites in any way whites saw fit. Consequently, racial miscegenation between Caucasians and African slaves became a common component of slave culture. In order to obstruct …show more content…
However, the exclusionary system the societies had fostered was maintained by color tests. Color tests, such as the paper bag test, were utilized in the most key aspect of black society: education. Dark skinned applicants were typically denied admission from elite black schools “regardless of their academic qualifications” (Russell et al. 28). Historically black colleges such as Howard University, Hampton University, Fisk University, and Spelman College all allegedly utilized the color test in admissions (Russell et al. 28). Consequently, dark skinned blacks were incapable of forming the social connections critical to becoming members of the black professional …show more content…
During the late 20’s, the NAACP and the Universal Negro Improvement Association competed for “the position of the premier African-American advocacy group”(Ware). In 1931, Marcus Garvey, the dark-skinned head of the Universal Negro Improvement Organization, accused W.E.B. Dubois’s NAACP of practicing colorism:
It is no wonder that Du Bois seeks the company of white people, because he hates black as being ugly. Yet this professor, who sees ugliness in being black, essays to be a leader of the Negro people and has been trying for over fourteen years to deceive them through his connection with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Now what does he mean by advancing colored people if he hates black so much? (Ware).
Dubois denied these claims, but his organizations’ actions seemingly verify Garvey’s claims. Crisis featured predominantly elite light skinned women. The NAACP appealed to the elite and educated, which were primarily light skinned blacks. In contrast, Garvey’s movement appealed to the masses; he uplifted the dark skinned community with his praise of “unadulterated blackness” (Russell et al. 33). However, these views alienated the “power brokers” of the black community and Garvey’s “crusade” ultimately failed (Russell et al.