Colorism Within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Abstract

Complexion privilege and color bias have long acted in concert with racism to foster intraracial forms of stratification among African Americans such as the tendency for educational levels and other measureable outcomes (e.g., income) to correspond with skin tone. In this article, we examine the salience of color prejudice at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including its historical origins, manifestations, and damaging results. We begin with a brief history of Black colleges and then present a historical perspective on colorism in the United States. Based on our synthesis, we offer recommendations for how institutional stakeholders may counter and dismantle colorist issues that commonly arise in HBCU contexts. Last, recommendations for future research and practice are presented.

Notes

Marybeth Gasman is professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves as the director of the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions. Ufuoma Abiola is the associate director of academic advising at the Wharton School and is a doctoral student in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania.