Colorism—the preferential treatment of lighter skin over darker skin—didn't emerge from personal prejudice. It is a product of colonization, slavery, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy. It functions globally, reinforced by media, markets, institutions, and families. It shapes who is deemed beautiful, who is hired, who is heard, and who is hurt. It is not about individual preference—it's about systemic hierarchy. And like every other system of oppression, it can and must be dismantled. The time for action is now. We all share this collective responsibility, and it's time to act together.

Families: The First Classroom of Colorism

Colorism doesn't begin in schools or offices. It starts at home. The family is where children first learn what is considered beautiful, acceptable, or desirable. It is where they are first praised—or shamed—for their skin tone, hair texture, nose width, or lip fullness. Too often, families unknowingly pass down colorist values like heirlooms: the praise of light-skinned babies, warnings to stay out of the sun, the celebration of looser curls or 'good hair,' and the subtle shaming of broad noses or dark complexions. These are not harmless comments. They are seeds planted early and deep, growing into self-doubt, shame, and silence. Families must reflect on their role in perpetuating colorism and take steps to change this narrative. The change starts at home.

When families fail to affirm the value of dark skin and African features, they reproduce the same colonial hierarchies we claim to resist. Grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and fathers—knowingly or not—become enforcers of a system that equates lightness and European aesthetics with worth. And the damage doesn't fade. It lingers a lifetime, shaping how people see themselves, what they believe they can achieve, and how others treat them.

This cycle must end. Families must be taught to unlearn colorism and affirm the full spectrum of Black and Brown beauty, including skin tones, hair textures, and facial features. That means deliberate praise, intentional storytelling, and cultural representation that uplifts—not erases—African aesthetics. Healing begins with accountability. The family must stop being a silent partner in harm and start being a foundation for justice.

Colorism Exists Across All Racial Groups—Including Whites

Colorism is not confined to Black and Brown communities. It operates within all racial groups—including white communities. Among white populations, paleness has long been associated with purity, femininity, fragility, and high class. At the same time, tanned or olive skin has been historically stigmatized as "ethnic" or "lesser." These hierarchies are compounded by beauty standards that also penalize features coded as "non-European"—such as tightly coiled hair, broad facial structures, and full lips—even within white ethnic groups.

Within Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern communities, colorism often mirrors caste-like systems where those with lighter skin and Eurocentric features are treated as more desirable, competent, or "American." Even in communities where everyone is technically nonwhite, lighter skin and European features become a passport to power and protection. That's not a coincidence. That's colonization.

This global reach of colorism proves what we've always known: it's not just a cultural quirk. It's a tool of white supremacy—used to divide, rank, and control. And it harms everyone, even as it benefits a few.

Name It. Teach It. Break the Silence.

Colorism thrives in silence. It hides behind euphemisms like "preference," "just joking," or "cultural norms." We must call it what it is: a system of oppression rooted in colonial violence. And we must be clear: colorism includes more than just skin tone. It provides hair texture, nose shape, lip size, bone structure, and all the features historically devalued because they are associated with Blackness.

Public education campaigns must expose colorism's roots and teach its current reach. Schools must embed this in curricula—not as a side note to racism, but as a central axis of inequality. Awareness and education are key to dismantling colorism.

Shattering Beauty Standards Built on White Supremacy

The global beauty industry profits from colorism. Skin-lightening products, hair straighteners, and facial surgeries are marketed to communities already taught to hate their reflection. These industries sell the lie that lighter skin, looser curls, narrower noses, and thinner lips are the path to beauty, love, and survival.

Meanwhile, media and fashion routinely erase dark skin and African features—or reduce them to tropes of aggression, servitude, or trauma. Beauty campaigns elevate the "exotic" only when it conforms to Eurocentric norms. The message is consistent: Black features are only acceptable when watered down.

We must radically redefine beauty. That means putting dark-skinned people with tightly coiled hair, broad noses, and full lips at the center—not the margins—not as tokens or exceptions, but as the standard. because until beauty standards reflect our full humanity, they will continue to reflect our historical dehumanization.

Institutions Are Not Neutral

Colorism isn't just interpersonal—it's institutional. Data proves that darker-skinned people and those with more African features face more barriers in employment, education, healthcare, and criminal justice—even when compared to others of the same race. For instance, darker-skinned individuals may be less likely to be hired for customer-facing roles in the employment sector due to perceived 'professionalism' or 'trustworthiness.' Yet most institutions don't measure this. And most leaders don't acknowledge it.

Organizations must audit not only for race but for phenotype bias. Phenotype bias is discrimination based on physical characteristics such as skin tone, hair texture, nose shape, and lip size. Who is getting hired? Who is getting promoted? Who is deemed 'professional,' 'trustworthy,' or 'polished'? Suppose your diversity efforts stop at skin color and ignore the bias against African features. In that case, you are maintaining a hierarchy—not dismantling it.

The Law Must Catch Up

The law continues to treat colorism and phenotype bias as invisible. Most civil rights statutes do not address skin tone or facial feature discrimination within racial groups—even though the harm is tangible, measurable, and devastating. This lack of legal recognition perpetuates the systemic nature of colorism, allowing it to go unchecked and unchallenged.

This must change.

1. Civil rights laws must explicitly include skin tone and phenotype as protected categories.
2. The EEOC, or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, must issue enforceable guidance defining colorism and feature-based discrimination as actionable civil rights violations. The EEOC is a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. Its involvement in addressing colorism is crucial for creating a more just and equitable society. Public agencies must track outcomes by both race and phenotype—because a system that lumps all Black or Brown people together hides the most vulnerable among them.

Legal protections must reflect lived realities—not abstract categories.

No Data, No Justice

Colorism and phenotype discrimination are allowed to persist in part because we do not track them. What isn't measured remains deniable. And what's deniable is never addressed.

We must demand disaggregated data. That means tracking outcomes by race and skin tone, hair texture, and other physical characteristics historically targeted for discrimination. This is not cosmetic. It is critical. If you don't measure who is harmed, you can't protect them.

Center the Voices of the Most Harmed

Colorism does not affect everyone equally. Dark-skinned women and girls with tightly coiled hair, broad noses, and full lips often bear the heaviest burden—socially, emotionally, and economically. Yet, too usually, they are pushed to the margins of even the movements meant to fight for justice.

We must center their voices, analysis, and leadership not as symbolic gestures but as a moral imperative. If the darkest and most marginalized among us are not protected, then none of us are indeed free.

A Global System with Local Consequences

Colorism is not an internal community issue. It is a global structure of anti-Blackness rooted in colonization. Whether it's caste in South Asia, pigmentocracy in Latin America, or color hierarchies in the U.S., the logic is the same: the closer to white you are—in color and features—the more you are valued.

That logic is deadly. It has stolen childhoods, careers, identities, and lives. If we are serious about liberation, we must dismantle not just racism but the internalized systems that whiteness left behind. That includes what we praise. What we reward. What we call beautiful. And what we call human.

Conclusion: Dismantle the Lie

Colorism is not natural. It is not benign. It is not "just culture." It is a violent system of dehumanization based on proximity to whiteness—not just in color but in nose width, lip shape, hair texture, and bone structure. It is a hierarchy. It is a lie. And it has robbed generations of their dignity, safety, and potential.

We will not heal by denying it, and we will not fix it with representation alone. Dismantling colorism means confronting families, institutions, industries, and laws. It means measuring what we've avoided. And it means amplifying the people whose voices were silenced by design.

Because the lie that lighter and whiter features are better was manufactured. And what was manufactured can be destroyed—with intention, courage, and collective power.

 Vernellia R. Randall, Professor Emerita of Law, University of Dayton School of Law.