ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the historical roots of colorism in the Chicana/o community, as well as its current form and practices. Colorism in the Chicana/o community has a long and complicated history. Because colorism is part of a larger system of institutional racism, its genealogy stems from European colonialism in the Americas and is reinforced by US and European cultural dominance today. The chapter defines the ways that income, occupational status, educational attainment, housing access, political attitudes, and other key factors are influenced by skin tone discrimination for Chicanas/os. Colorism among Chicanas/os is similar to that of other Latinas/os, in that light skin bestows important advantages on some community members, while dark skin disadvantages others. Skin tone connotes meanings of status that harken back to European colonialism, but the color-based hierarchies are also reinforced in contemporary media and discriminatory practices in United States and Latin America more broadly.
