A post doc student in psychology at University of Georgia did a study on skin tone bias in hiring.... His findings were not real surprise to me or likely you either. But maybe it will be a surprise to some "other"folks and it will make them think twice about their natural tendencies when evaluating job candidates....
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/skin_tone.htmlThis reminds me of my discoveries about racial identity, and racial and skin tone bias as I was growing up. I think all black folks have had these skin tone "realizations" as they grow up and move around society. We all know that it is more complicated than just being black.
So, as you might have noticed, I am on the lighter side of the skin tone perspective for black folks (Duh!) but my parents always did a great job of making sure that I was very clear about my racial identity. I was black. I always knew that. In fact, i remember a story about how I was learning my colors and my mother trying to explain how I was black and the color that I just learned as black were the same things. Very complicated to get across to a 2-3 year old!
In fact, I so valued my black identity that I got upset once when someone in junior high said I was "mixed." Now, let me explain something about my geneology to you all. As light as I may look, you have to go about 4 generations back to actually get to a white person on my father's side of the family. (not that I would expect anyone to know that by looking.) My father's side of the family is from New Orleans so all the lightskinned folks married each other, thus reinforcing these skin tone characteristics. On my mother's side, while my grandmother was fair, my grandfather was dark. So, at that time, when my classmate made that comments I got upset more because I knew it wasn't true than I thought it was something bad. We learned that skin tone didnt often tell you very much about where someones people "came from" or how their brother, sister, mother or father might look. My mother's mother had eight borthers and sisters and they ran the skin tone spectrum from very dark to light with straight red hair. And, my my friend Melinda was darker than I was even though her mother was white. This stuff wasnt simple! In the end, it makes very little difference. All African Americans have a varied geneology, just by the nature of the fact that we who we are and how most of our ancestors got here.
But I was always confronted with the intricacies of skin tone and geneology growing up and I never really valued the so called "benefit" of being lighter.... I have never been a fan of the red undetones in my skin and couldn't wait for summer so I could get a tan and not be so pale! My hair, while it may have been a different color from my friend's requireda relaxer just like everyone else to get straight.
I used to say often in high school that I was a dark skinned girl, living in a light skinned girl's body! My best friend, Pauline, and I were very similar in high school. We were both about the same height, had the same length hair and similar hair styles. We were about the same size, although she was thinner. We dressed similarly, talked similarly, had similar interests. But she was dark skinned. So likely, growing up around her, helped heighten my sensitivity to skin tone preference. I remember one time, we were in the local mall, in a record store, looking around for music. We had bothe been in there a while browsing..... But it was she who got approached by the salesperson, asking if she needed help "finding anything," in a way that was less about good customer service and more about letting you know that they are keeping an eye on you. Meanwhile, I am wandering around that store with no issue. That experience really resonated with me. The fact that her parents were better off financially than mine and that she was more likely to be able to afford anything we were looking at than I was could not be seen and made no difference. It was the difference in her skin tone that got her singled out.
As I have gotten older, I feel like the incidences like this have become less frequent, or maybe just less obvious. I did move away from the Midwest to a large coastal city with more diversity so I am sure that had something to do with it as well. I can't help feeling though, that when white people come up to me and ask me all these questions about my hair some of it has to do with the fact that I am light enough for them to feel comfortable with me. Questions on buses, elevators, in restuarants. Questions like "do you wash it?" Comments like "you must have to get up really early in the morning to all that every morning!"...... But I guess, I would rather they ask me than stay ignorant... Just a few thoughts this morning..... Check out the article and please share your thoughts, comments and experiences....
