Colorism Isn't Hatred in a Vacuum. It's Inspired by White Supremacy

Inthe land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and in a country that rejects blackness, whiteness, or lightness, reigns supreme. Why have most Americans heard of Rosa Parks's refusal to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, a decision that sparked a successful boycott of racially segregated public transportation <a href="https://readcultured.com/why-teachers-cant-tell-the-whole-truth-about-rosa-parks-5d911b53a6b8" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">in 1955</a>, but not Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old pregnant Black teenager who refused to give up her seat nine months earlier? While many factors could have contributed, I would argue that one of the reasons is colorism, and another is respectability politics. If Colvin had a fairer complexion and had not been pregnant at the time of her protest, she would likely have become the face of the movement. In an award-winning book, Phillip Hoose quoted Colvin as saying that Rosa Parks had the "right hair and the right look." She also added that “her <a href="https://www.npr.org/2009/03/15/101719889/before-rosa-parks-there-was-claudette-colvin" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">skin texture</a> was the kind people associate with the middle class" and "she fit that profile." <a href="https://readcultured.com/colorism-isnt-hatred-in-a-vacuum-it-s-inspired-by-white-supremacy-da4be0c65272">Learn More</a>