Histories of Colorism and Implications for Education

Abstract

In this article, we consider how colorist ideologies and practices unsettle arguments that celebrate racial gains in education, particularly as related to divides that have narrowed since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Although outcomes based on race may document some general paths of improvement, progress and success can be appreciably uneven across people who are the same race. Even though skin tone is a linchpin of intraracial disparities, connections between colorism and educational outcomes are underappreciated. A brief consideration of how color-based advantages and disadvantages may affect African-, Latino/a-, and Asian-descended groups is provided to heighten educators' awareness of the problem.

Notes

Dr. Verna M. Keith is a Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Carla R. Monroe is a Former Research Scientist at the Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia.