ABSTRACT
As the two senior authors of this chapter, Janie Victoria Ward and Tracy L. Robinson-Wood bring to this work decades of reflection and concern about the seemingly intractable nature of colorism, a problem that will not go away. More than 30 years ago, as Black doctoral students in a program that trained psychologists, educators, and teachers, we wrote our first article on Black women and colorism. As we write this current chapter on colorism, we are struck by the fact that what we wrote then and what we are writing now is heartbreakingly similar. During the 1980s, we used the technology available to us: floppy disks, dot matrix printers, and cassette recorders to chronicle the experiences of colorism in the lives of Black women. We were doctoral candidates and budding researchers having conversations with Black women who recounted the psychological influence of messages they received about the significance of skin color and hair throughout their childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Some of these messages about skin color preferences were transmitted in the home and in schools by parents, extended family members, and by teachers. The members of our focus groups shared stories of the divisiveness and isolation they experienced as the forces of colorism pit Black people against one another on the basis of immutable characteristics. Over the last few decades, this issue has received increased prominence and conversations about skin color consciousness have become more commonplace. Social scientists have focused on the phenomenon, providing ample research evidence to support the notion that skin color preferences are alive, well, and result in undeniable social, economic, and political consequences for Black people (Herring, Keith, & Horton, 2004).
