racism, colorism and power

8/12/2019 Racism, Colorism and Power

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Racism, Colorism and Power Racism, Colorism and Power By Larry D. Crawford (Mwalimu A. Bomani Baruti)

Most of us would have little to no ro!lem a"reein" that the ran"e of color

Afri#an eole ossess is awesome. Blac#, in all its slendid hues, isindeed !eautiful. $t should also "o without sayin", that this variation isuseless as an inde% for &ud"in" individual !eauty, intelli"ence, asirationsand the li#e. 'nes comle%ion is intrinsically irrelevant to any and all ofthese ualities.

*et we ractice the +uroean model of a racial hierarchy. And, havin"adoted it, any value we !elieve we indeendently, consciously or not,attach to different comle%ions in our community is merely a atheticimitation of its racist !eliefs at the societal level. o, in this new a"e ofconsciousness raisin" it must !e reali-ed that we cannot em!race a color

!ased hierarchy amon" Afri#ans without, at some level, accetin" as trutha hierarchy of color amon" humans. /here is no denyin" that the socialor"ani-ation of our community alon" lines of color recisely mimics theorder fa!ricated !y white suremacy. Blac# America (Afri#ans) serves as aclassic microcosm in white suremacys "lo!al macrocosm. /he onlyarecia!le difference is that we 0discriminate0 without ower.

/herefore, since in fact we are "uilty of comlicity, one of the mostfundamental uestions we need to answer is why it is so criticallyimortant to some in our midst that we not discuss the s#in tonestratification that does in fact e%ist in our community. 1hy is it that eventhe most intelli"ent e%chan"e we have a!out how we erceive and treateach other individually, as a reaction to others reaction a"ainst how much

i"ment the Creator "ave us collectively, is considered ta!oo or 0airin" our

dirty laundry,0 even amon" ourselves2 /here is nothin" wron" with ran"ein comle%ion, or in li#in" your comle%ion wherever it may fall alon"that ran"e. /hat should !e a "iven. /he ro!lem is in the heavy and almoste%clusive fascination with one end of that sectrum, the end erceived asclosest to the +uroean.

/he almost immediate resonse when oenin" this already tender wounda"ain is, 01hy do we have to "o there20 01hy are we dealin" with a deadissue20 /he assumtion is that if we dont tal# a!out it it will somehow

&ust "o away. +ssential to this acuiescence is the !elief that everyone,esecially +uroeans dee down in their hearts, if we &ust atiently show



them how !y settin" a nonviolent moral e%amle, wants race to !ecomeirrelevant. $n other words, if we state that we !ear no identity other thanhuman, we will !y default !ecome this in ractice and eventually reality./hat is an attitude of the vanuished from fear, from i"norance. 3or asBo!!y +. 1ri"ht warned ne"roes, ne"roettes and other lost souls, 0$t is

atholo"ical for !lac#s to #ee attemtin" to use moral suasion on a eole who have no morality where race is the varia!le.0 1hat reallyhaens when we wont tal# a!out it, when it is left to fester, is that it"ains ower amon" those individuals who have a vested interest in notdiscussin" it !ecause they tend to !enefit disroortionately from it (!ethey others or some of us fallin" at the overemhasi-ed end of thesectrum or hun"rily lain" u the crum!s "iven to them for maintainin"divisions amon" their own). Political silence from the disossessed alwaysstren"thens those rivile"ed !y the status uo.

$"norin" it will not ma#e it "o away. $t never has. $t never will. $f historyteaches us anythin", it demonstrates when thin"s that can harm us areintentionally i"nored they will eventually return with a ven"eance on thosearro"ant, fearful or even careless enou"h to dismiss them. 4niversal lawdoes not allow us to eretually swee ain under a ru". $t accumulatesuntil there is too much to !e contained. /hen, it returns li#e 0chic#ens

comin" home to roost.0But first, !efore we en"a"e each other in any meanin"ful discussion of thisissue, we must sort out and clarify our definitions. Colorism, not racism, isthe correct term for descri!in" the re&udices that Afri#ans hold a!out eachother and seemin"ly use a"ainst or to the advanta"e of themselves andothers of relatively similar comle%ion.

$n this resect, re&udice, which is an attitude, a way of thin#in", must !edistin"uished from discrimination, which necessarily involves action. An

attitude or thou"ht is without ower unless acted uon. Colorism, in thecultural conte%t of "rou ower, is an attitude. /his article is couched interms of ower. /here is no meanin"ful discussion of the individual or"rou without a central and causative focus on real indicators of ower forthe individual or "rou relative to other individuals and "rous. /his is nota discussion of influence !ecause no matter how measured it is a functionof ower. 1ithout the erceived otential threat of enforcement throu"h ane%ercise of retaliatory ower, influence is meanin"less and, in fact,

lau"ha!le. $n the +uroean cultural conte%t, influence without the ercetion of a sufficient ower !ase is i"nored.



$n the white suremacist cultural conte%t of +uroean society, Afri#anshave never !een in the osition to e%ercise ower a"ainst +uroeans !asedon the color of their s#in. Colorism is reflected in intra"rou interaction. $toccurs within a "rou. $t oerates at the level of family. Racism, on theother hand, has nothin" to do with family. $t re"ulates the distri!ution ofresources !etween two or more "rous throu"h the actual or threatenin"use of ower. $t occurs in the inter "rou arena and is unuestiona!ly,viewed throu"h the tellin" lens of history, the natural osture of +uroeanstoward Afri#ans and every other eole with color.

...racism 5is6 discrimination !y a "rou a"ainst another for the uroses of su!&u"ation ormaintainin" su!&u"ation. $n other words one cannot !e a racist unless he has the ower tosu!&u"ate. 1hat !lac#s are doin" is merely to resond to a situation in which they findthemselves the o!&ects of white racism.

Racism is a +uroean manufacture. /hey lanted and cultivated iteverywhere they went. $t is a tool of white suremacy that elevates the+uroean and creates oression and anta"onistic infi"htin" amon" theremainin" disemowered oulation. /heir first institutionali-ation ofracism occurred in $ndia !ut, of course, did not end there. $n that they are"lo!al tresassers, it is a "lo!al henomenon. /hey were and remain itscarriers. Racism continues to !e relicated wherever they 0discover0 new,untamed frontiers and 0uncivili-ed0 eoles. $t remains constant in those

laces where they have hysically dearted !ut remain a!sentee resourcecontrollers.

/hat racism, however defined, has finally come to !e conceded !y+uroean intellectuals and their audience as a ermanent social fi%tureshould not !e news to us. /he ower it "ives the !eneficiaries of whitesuremacy should never have !een thou"ht to !e relinuished easily, if atall. Racism is not lo"ical. $t is not susceti!le to moral reason. $t can notand will not !e eacefully ne"otiated away.

Conseuently, to #ee the thin veneer of racial harmony intact, racismsdefinition has !een modified to e%onerate its source. 7ew world ordereveryoneshouldloveeachotherandfor"iveandfor"etwhattheysystematicallyandsava"elydidtoourancestorsandstilldotous

!ecausewereallhuman roa"anda is desi"ned to ma#e us feel that theyare !ein" unfairly accused and victimi-ed. Racism and colorism have

!ecome urosefully entan"led to the oint where, 0!y ma#in" racism

everyones disease, you ma#e it incura!le...the universali-ation of !lameimlies that eole of color must suffer discrimination without hoe ofescae.0



By this switch, this redefinition, it is made to seem as if we do it toourselves. 1e !ecome the source, the culrit, the lone, unrovo#ed

eretrator. 1e !ecome the initiators. 1e !ecome racisms history.+uroeans no lon"er lay any art !eyond !ein" mem!ers of a humanfamily where every!ody is naturally as racist as they have roventhemselves to !e.

1e must learn that olitical definitions are created !y eole to !enefitthemselves. /hey serve selfinterested a"endas. 3rom an Afri#an centered

ersective, we must define racism, as a home"rown !yroduct of whitesuremacy.

1e must ma#e the !est use of our most rofound and historically "roundedwarrior scholars in our definitions. As an e%amle of this need, accetin"

the !asic mainstream 1estern social science definitions of nuclear familiesas havin" !oth a wife and hus!and with ossi!ly one or more children ande%tended families as containin" no less than two adult coules with one ormore children and ossi!ly other relatives inevita!ly leads us tomasochistically define our own families as a!normal and dysfunctional.+ually dama"in", any su!mission to their newfan"led definition ofracism !estows innocence uon them e%cet for a few !ad ales, leavin"those of us who aerceive white suremacy in the unenvia!le osition of

!ein" la!eled vindictive, siteful social misfits, 0una!le to &ust let it "o0and &ust let it disaear throu"h silence.

Racism must !e defined !y Afri#ans in terms of our historical relationshito +uroeans centuries old festival of 0death, destruction and domination.0$t must !e defined as a function of ower. $t must !ecome reco"ni-ed forwhat it is, a function of the ercetion of the ro!a!ility of a threat oractual e%ercise of ower !y +uroeans a"ainst Afri#ans. /here must !e arecord of unrovo#ed, unnecessary, e%cessive #illin". /he racist must !e

#nown and feared for #illin" for nothin". 1ithout ower, racism cannote%ist. $t would !low away li#e the dust of a disinte"rated corse.

/he social ran#in" of eole !y s#in tone within the Afri#an communityreuires serious, oen and on"oin" discussion as to its roots,manifestations and tenacity !ecause it continuously feeds divisive oliticalrelations, articularly alon" class and "ender lines. Colorism intensifies theintra"rou anta"onisms already a""ravated !y infi"htin" over a limitednum!er of discarded olitical and economic crum!s. /he rover!ial divideand conuer strate"y endures !ecause it is nursed, not !ecause we havenothin" in common.



8ere are some mental e%ercises that, with honest reflection, can hel !rin"this common confusion over what different oints alon" the comle%ionran"e consciously and su!consciously imly closer to home.

$ma"ine on different !ut very similar !usy streets, two Afri#an women of

comara!le aearance (wei"ht, hei"ht, hair len"th and te%ture, attire,mannerisms, nails, facial features, smile, etc.), e%cet one is dar#comle%ioned and the other much li"hter, are stranded with car ro!lems.1ho will, in all real ro!a!ility, receive the most, and most immediate,assistance from Afri#an males2 3rom any males2

And as a related aside !rothers, why is it that every time most !rothers seea crowd of sisters, our eyes are immediately drawn to the one with theli"htest s#in2 Dont deny !efore you thin#. /his is not an accusation. ome

mista#enly call this evidence of "ood social trainin".

1hen you "o to a arty no one !lindfolds you at the door, has you ointyour inde% fin"er strai"ht out, sins you around, and whoever you are

ointin" at when you sto turnin" is who you !um and "rind with. Doyou honestly and intelli"ently ta#e the time to find out whats in her headand heart !efore detailin" her form2 Dont deny. Chec# yourself 9causenothin" is wron" with her. he had no say over the way she was !orn.Dont say 0not me0 until you ta#e the time to really thin# a!out it. 7owthat youve "iven it some thou"ht, when we do this which !rain isthin#in"2 /he "rey one, the colorran#in" white suremacist one, or theother one (or some com!ination thereof)2

1hy do the teachers ets of today have the same comle%ion and featuresas they did :;, <; =;, >;, ?;; years a"o2 +ven after the 0ay $t Loud $mBlac# and $m Proud0 ?@=;s it is still a constant. 1hy do the sisters wetend to consider the 0finest0 and 0hatest0 today have the same comle%ion

and features as they did :;, <; =;, >;, ?;; years a"o2 1hy do Afri#ansstill refer to live in redominantly +uroean communities2 And, why doAfri#an Catholic con"re"ations still refer more than any otherdenomination to have a +uroean reachin" from their ulits2

omethin" this ervasive and internali-ed is a function of +uroeancultural imeratives, of a ratin" system e%creted from the !owels of whitesuremacy. And are those of us who are so enra"ed at +uroeans favorin"those Afri#ans they found more aesthetically leasin" that you have

develoed the a!ility to 0!lac# out,0 to desise, to resent, those sisters any !etter2 /he 4niverse chose their comle%ion, not +uroeans. 3urther, there



is no correlation !etween level of melanin and consciousness, only level of melanin and access to the masters crum!s in this culture. And rivile"e in+uroean society is still the +uroeans choice. Revolutionary !rothers andsisters would rather insect and chec# the colorism oisonin" their mindsthan !e "overned !y suerficial hysical endowments.

Can you icture a !lac# an"el, !lue !lac# from the sole of her sandals tothe crest of her halo2 Can you truly visuali-e that2 3or many of us, theonly ossi!le conclusion is that this is the An"el of Death. *et, assumin"you !elieve heaven is a lace, we must have ancestors there somewherewith the dar#est of s#in. +ither that or you have !ou"ht into thedescendants of 8am a!surdity. o why are Afri#an an"els so hard tovisuali-e2 A wise erson would have to #now that the An"el of Death has

roven himself to !e anythin" !ut Afri#an.Coincidentally, why does the "eneral comle%ion !ecome dar#er anddar#er when you travel from uer to middle to lower class Afri#ancommunities2 1hy is it that most homeless men are dar# comle%ioned21hy do we !ecome affectively shoc#ed or distur!ed at the si"ht of a li"htcomle%ioned homeless man2 1hy does the former seem more natural andthe latter utterly out of lace2 1hy is it that most homeless women arealso dar# comle%ioned2 But, most imortantly, are these o!servations

roof of the validity of eu"enics (scientific racism) theories tyin" "reaterintelli"ence and drive with less color2 'r is somethin" else at lay here2

Could anythin" cause Afri#ans to "o into de!t for cosmetic sur"eries that !roaden their noses and lis, ti"hten their curls or dar#en their eyes2 $n all ro!a!ility, no. Dont !e that confused, small mind who hurts his or her !rain tryin" to find that one, or two, +uroean female actresses whosuosedly call this vastly disroortionate truth into uestion !y tryin" todred her hair or imlant lastic in her !ehind. Dont follow the ath of

those mental mid"ets who claim racial euality has !een reached in caital unishment !ecause the one or two +uroean males they searched so hardfor who were e%ecuted !y the state for #illin" Afri#ans somehow !alancesthe thousands of Afri#an males accused of lesser crimes and murdered !ythe state and its mo!s. 1ould an entrereneur ma#e any money sellin"

roducts that would ma#e us more 0Afri#an0 loo#in" as comared to onewho offers a roduct that hysically chan"ed us into 7ordics or Celtics2 $fcolor and features are of no imortance and reference is in no articular

direction, then why does the vast ma&ority of cosmetic sur"ery erformedon Afri#ans ma#e them aear more +uroean2 1hy the deserate



emhasis on thinness thinner noses, thinner lis, thinner thi"hs, thinnerhis, lesser curl, li"hter colored eyes2

/he roa"ated ideal woman is necessarily unnatural. he is as far fromthe avera"e human female as +uroean culture can ossi!ly ma#e her. /he

farther she is from natural, the "reater the otential rofits for a !usinesscommunity that thrives on leadin" eole to want and !e what they do nothave and are not. /he "oal is to consistently ma#e the a!normal, unnatural,unavera"e desira!le and turn that want into a need. /he "oal is to turn

eole outside of themselves, to remove all vesti"es of internal andcommunal control or "uidance, and lu" them into an e%ternally controlledmar#et. *ou could call it mar#et terrorism. $ndividuals are driven tocomly with commercial ressures to !e socially acceted while at the

same time they are #et disoriented as to the ro"ressive direction ofmar#et fa!ricated needs allowin" any new and imroved roduct to

!ecome their most imortant riority.

$f it really doesnt matter, as the socalled authorities osin" as Blac# tal#show hosts assure us, why "o only in a whitenin" direction2 $f 0!eauty0 isa uality found amon" all eole, and +uroeans reresent less than ?;of the worlds oulation and, therefore, less than ?; of all natural

!eauty, why are the hysical disfi"urations eole of color see# almost

universally oneway, the way of the 0erfect0 +uroean model2#in whitenin" roducts still dis"race African American homes. $n ?@@;<< million was sent on s#in !leachin" roducts in this country. /heamount increases yearly. 3rom here, its use has sread across the lanetli#e a conta"ion. As a 0!eneficiary0 of +uroean cultural imerialism, it isno surrise that our motherlands ur!an oulation seems to welcomethese menticidal roducts with oen arms. ur"ical rocedures offerin" toeven more raidly and ermanently transform !lac# into white are

attractin" consumers left and ri"ht from Cae /own to /unis. Mar#eted rimarily to women who have the trile disadvanta"e of !ein" Afri#an, oor and female, these oerations leave their s#in melaninless. Doctorshave found that this literally #ills it. /hey are findin" that without themelanin this new and imroved, i.e., white, s#in no lon"er heals naturally.1ounds seem to ta#e forever to heal, if they ever do.

/hin# a!out it. If Michael Eac#son really had a s#in disease that leftslotches of li"htened s#in, why didnt he simly ta#e the less costly andmore lo"ical route of simly dar#enin" those slotches to match the rest of his s#in instead of li"htenin" the ma&ority of his un!lemished s#in to



match the a!normalities2 $f you even had the sli"htest idea of who you arethat would ma#e sense. 'ne has to uestion the use of anti!lemishconcoctions as 0only0 !lemish removers, unless the !lemish is the entire

!ody. ome refer to it as 0the !leachin" syndrome0 F an o!session withturnin" oneself white. $s there even a reason to as# why, even after !ein"

u!licly e%osed, the leadin" Afri#an cosmetic roducer still su""estsma#eu !ases li"hter than the women they are used on2

'ne more thou"ht to invo#e more thou"ht. $f lan"ua"e is without owerand color is irrelevant, why is there a distinct and intensely differentemotional resonse associated with !ein" called a !lac# ni""a versus a

lain ol ni""a, a !lac# !itch versus an ordinary one2 1hy is one fi"htin"words and the other a term of endearment2

By now, we should !e sic# and tired of eole ar"uin" that their color wasa "enetic accident, or that they &ust haen to !e Blac# or that it ma#es nodifference whether you are Blac# or white and, therefore, that race is anonissue, that we should for"et a!out it and "o on a!out the !usiness ofsuccess. Peole say they dont want to !e called Blac# or Afri#an usin" thee%cuse that it is limitin". $ts interestin" that to say youre white is not.1hen your validation comes from +uroeans rather than !ein" who andwhat you naturally are, you can never measure u. DuhG *ou are not

+uroeanG $n a white suremacist culture you necessarily must denyyourself in order to succeed.

But havin" a historically conscious Afri#an center allows one to#nowin"ly resond to such insanity with, 0ince when has !ein" Afri#an

revented anyones ascension20 1hy have we come to !elieve that ursuin" the will of our ancestors consi"ns us to mental and material overty2 $f success is an individual, andHor "rou, choice whenever,wherever and under whatever conditions you find yourself, then there is an

a!solute truth in the instruction that

!efore a erson can achieve the #ind of life he desires, he must become that kind of

individual . 8e must thin#, act, tal#, wal#, and conduct himself in all of his affairs as wouldthe erson he wishes to !ecome in the sirit of a ri"ht mental attitude. 8e is then actuallythat erson, and the thin"s that erson would have and do will naturally come to him.($talics in ori"inal)

/here must !e a reason we are ur"ed to 0structure your world in such away that you are constantly reminded of who you are and what you want

to !e.0Color is accidental to success as considered in the conte%t of this



discussion. But not in the way +uroean culture would have us thin#. 7one is !etter ualified than Iwendolyn Broo#s to admonish us in thisresect that, 0!lac# eole who want a!ove all thin"s not to !e !lac# arethe most itia!le and comical eole in the world.0 Race men and womenhave always "uided us in the Afri#an 1ay. 1ould it !e incorrect tocontend that 3annie Lou 8amer, Malcolm J (+l 8a&& Mali# el ha!a--),Drusilla 8ouston, Iil cott8eron, Kwame /ure, $da B. 1ells, ueenMother Moore, Martin R. Delaney, Marcus Iarvey and +lla Ba#er werenot !oth Afri#an and successful2

/his does not mean that in this a"in" +uroean world order race is nolon"er relevant. Biolo"ical differences in color continue to !e used aswhite suremacys rimary &ustification for assertin" racial differences in

morality, intelli"ence, !eauty and asiration. Many of us are still la"ued !y that menticidal insanity. A recent 7ational 'inion Research Centersurvey e%emlifies this. $t disclosed that 0N.: ercent 5of whites6 thou"ht

!lac#s were 0less intelli"ent0 than them. 1hat should have !een nosurrise to most of us a!out the thou"ht of natural white suremacist wasfrustrated !y the statistic that 0N; ercent of the !lac#s surveyed a"reed.0'!viously, some very serious confusion remains.

Contrary to oular !elief, we are not our own worst enemy. Althou"h, we

have often !ehaved as colorist as +uroeans have !een racist. 8owever,we are tal#in" in the tense of what has !een, not what can !e. As the futurevan"uard, we must !e"in the rocess of intelli"ently and interactivelydismantlin" this vehicle of cultural imerialism. $t cannot !e done withoutscientific and historical understandin". 'ne of the reasons that 'ssie Davisserved as narrator of the movie 0J0 was !ecause he attemted to e%osethe oositional nature of !lac# and white which formed a !asis for whitesuremacy. 1hat Malcolm did with the dictionary in &ail he, too, did in a

scholarly and u!lished article. /hey !oth found that the vast ma&ority ofterms indicatin" !lac# or dar# connoted !ad or evil while thosesynonymous with white or li"ht sym!oli-ed "ood or virtue.

Lan"ua"e a is very owerful tool. 1hen oral or written sym!ols arereinforced throu"h entertainment, education and reli"ion, it !ecomes evenmore otent. 1ords communicate meanin"s that are commonly understood

!y all articiants or they cannot stand as a method for conveyin" meanin"or order. /he su!conscious, sym!olic reality which eole sea# into

e%istence facilitates the e%ercise of ower or reveals imotence. 1ords,also, are made into allies or enemies. 'ur unso#en awareness of the



+uroean meanin"s !ehind the sym!ols we use demonstrates a willin"consumtion of a racist reference "rous seductive culture. /he lan"ua"ewe ae reveals our not so !lind endorsement of anothers self!enefittin"cultural definitions a!out color, ours relative to their lac# of it.

/he roof of our accetance of others definitions is too "reat to i"nore orattri!ute to chance. But one remains a noteworthy classic. 8alf a centurya"o, Mamie and Kenneth Clar#s study clearly demonstrated our seemin"lynatural love for +uroeans. /heir study has !een reeated several timessince with very similar results. And, re"ardless of minor methodolo"icalflaws, there is somethin" to !e learned from them. /he uestion it rovesthat still needs to !e as#ed is, 01hy would Afri#an children all over theworld die to !e +uroean li#e Bar!ie and Ken20 as so well articulated in

novels li#e /oni Morrisons The Bluest Eye. 1hy is selfhate a rite of assa"e into Afri#an adulthood2

Loo#ed at from another an"le, a num!er of +uroean students were as#edif they wo#e u to find they were Afri#an what amount of money wouldthey feel was &ust comensation. /he si-e of the amount, and evenac#nowled"ment that rearations would !e aroriate, indicates that+uroeans #now the severe social and cultural disadvanta"e of havin"

!lac# s#in in western society. /he level this awareness may !e

su!consciously em!edded is irrelevant. /heir oor little rich white mansfeelin"s are not at sta#e here. Does the innocent Afri#an man &ustsentenced to 0twenty to life0 really "ive a damn if the &ud"e is onlysu!consciously racist2 +uroeans understand what they have done to theminds of Afri#ans. $t should come as no surrise that

...most 5of the white students6 seemed to feel that it would not !e out of lace to as# for ; million, or ? million for each comin" !lac# year. Andthis calculation conveys, as well as anythin", the value that white eole

lace on their own s#ins. $ndeed, to !e white is to ossess a "ift whosevalue can !e areciated only after it has !een ta#en away. And why as# solar"e a sum2 urely this needs no detailin". /he money would !e used, as

!est it could, to !uy rotections from the discriminations and dan"erswhite eole #now they would face once they were erceived to !e !lac#.

1e would !e remiss if the uestion of who does colorism !enefit was not osed. As Afri#ans we need to assess &ust how our fi"htin" over scarcecrum!s translate into limited ower for us and !enefits others. Peace is not

rofita!le to e%loiters. And masses, or"ani-ed alon" whatever lines, arealways a "rave threat to any real, core e%loitin" class. /hey understand



our ower. 1e must !e made to waste it fi"htin" each other. 1e must !emade to thin# that anythin" that creates tension within our ran#s is of ourmanufacture. Remem!er when Afri#an men lashed out at Afri#an womenwriters when Afri#an 0male!ashin"0 novels !ecame "lorified in themedia2 1e did this without reali-in" that +uroean males wittin"lycontrolled this im!alanced resentation or considerin" the num!er offemale !ashin" novels Afri#an men wrote. 1e must !e #et isolated fromour ower.

Power comes from selflove. elflove comes from historical awarenessand olitical or"ani-ation. Part of that awareness is derived from studyin"the choices made in our ancestors societies. Read a"es ?=N?O< in +rrielD. Ro!ersons The Maafa & Beyond . And, then, "et !usy.

*es, we can "o !ac# in time and find in some a reference for li"hter s#inwomen. But, then a"ain, we find in some very dar# women or !rownwomen or small women or lar"e women or short women or tall womenmost desired. But nowhere and at no time do we find the e%tensive,intensive invidious, destructive intra"rou anta"onisms !ased ondifferences in i"ment as are found wherever +uroeans have defiled this

lanet.

A uite insi"htful e%amle is Bra-il. As the nation with the second lar"estnational oulation of Afri#ans on the lanet, Bra-il stands out most

!ecause of the covert 0whitenin"0 ro"rams its &udicial and lawenforcement systems imlemented to imrove their reutation amon"+uroeans as a choice tourist attraction. /hey have successfully loweredthe melanin content of their visi!le oulation. Dar# s#inned children have

!ecome as undesira!le there as homeless Afri#an men in Chica"o, Atlanta,D.C., L.A., and everywhere else in the u.s. Mass "raves of dar# s#inned

!oys, courtesy of the olice, are so common that they no lon"er have any

shoc# or ratin"s value in the Bra-ilian media. At the same time,+uroeans awareness of their -ero oulation "rowth rate and efforts todelay their imendin" fall !y endearin" tomorrows ma&ority worldleadershi has rei"nited their uniue ractice of stealin" the li"htestcomle%ioned #ids and lacin" them with +uroean families throu"hout+uroe and the u.s.

$s colorism new2 'f course not. $ts almost as old as the word ne"ro. $n theu.s. we voluntarily, systematically, overtly and unashamedly ass downthis same nonsense throu"h everythin" from childrens clu!s to fraternitiesto sororities to schools to churches to olitical offices to !usinesses. $t is a



sad commentary on our selfhate and atholo"ical denial of it that we stillsea# of and refer 0"ood0 hair. 7o wonder an incredi!le num!er of us arestill driven to 0ass0 for +uroean and hide amon" them.

As of the year ?@;, the defectors had soared to ?:,;;; er annum. By ?@>; the yearly tallywas ?O,;;;. $f that num!er held steady durin" the ?@>;s F conceiva!ly it was "reater F thendurin" that decade alone, some ?O;,;;; ersons a!andoned Blac# identity and the Blac#American community. +ven a conservative estimate would lace those who slied away to

ass for white in the si%ty years from ?@N; to ?@@;, at some =N;,;;;.

Anythin" !ut to !e Afri#an.

Many Afri#ans in the u.s. also still want to see themselves as distinct fromContinental Afri#ans. /hey use comle%ion and feature differences, somestooin" so low as to include odor, followin" the arro"ant lead of theirmasters who had to learn to !athe from the Moors, as an e%cuse to furthersever themselves from any Afri#an !loodlines. $n the effort to definethemselves as nonAfri#an, i.e., movin" with all due haste to remove theAfrican from African American, they have done all in their ower toconceal our rae. $nterestin"ly enou"h, this is !ehavior common to raesurvivors. $n a last ditch effort to identify with the master, centuries of raeare intellectuali-ed and transformed into love.

Rae is an act of war. $n a nonse%ist, ri"hteous world, there should !e no

statute of limitations on rae. ince when do raists ualify for the honorof ancestorshi2 /o accet +uroean ancestors is to deny our Afri#anancestors.

At what oint would a succession of raes ualify a +uroean to !e one ofyour ancestors2 uccession here means somethin" done over and over andover a"ain, with forethou"ht and malice. +nslaved Afri#an women hadlittle choice, short of murdersuicide, a!out e%chan"in" se% to feed theirchildren or secure mercy for their men. 1hy should the real suerfrea#s

who !iolo"ically and culturally defiled, desecrated and defaced us throu"henslavement, coloni-ation, neoslavery and neocoloni-ation deserve to !ehonored in this most sacred way2 +uroeans are not our ancestors. +venwithin the Afri#an community, elder or ancestor is a status that has to !eearned. And now we want to reward the raist as ancestor.

4nderstandin" that, understand this. Rae can !e consensual. +urocentrictheorists su!mit that that which occurred !etween slaves and masters,+uroean &ewish women and their 7a-i tormentors, those #idnaed and

their #idnaers are worthy e%amles of consensual rae. 8owever, thatwhole discussion is irrelevant unless the +uroeans definition of



consensual is considered within the conte%t of his overwhelmin"a""ression as the enslaver.

Rae was a fact of life on the lantations. At any time and in any lace, female slaves weresu!&ect to the drun#en or a!usive se%ual advances of a master, an overseer, a nei"h!or, or amasters son. 3ew Blac# women reached the a"e of si%teen without havin" !een molested

!y a 1hite male.

...children had to watch their mothers !ein" raed. Consider the scars that this leaves on achild. As imressiona!le as children are, for a child to watch or hear a arent !ein" raedhas to leave an emotional imrint in the memory that is dama"in" for a lifetime. 'ne alsomust #now the trauma a woman suffers throu"h when she is raed...'ur African sisters hadto deal not &ust with the sin"le harmful e%erience of !ein" raed, !ut were reeatedly andrandomly raed !y ravenous enslavers...Additionally, hus!ands had to watch the reeatedse%ual a!use of their wives and fathers watched the reeated rae of their dau"hters. /hishad to !e an emasculatin" e%erience. /he asect of manhood defined !y ones a!ility to

rotect his family was ta#en away.Love is truly !lind. *ou can fall in love with a do", or shee as many a+uroean has aarently done. 1hat /homas Eefferson reeatedly did toally 8emin"s only has meanin" within the conte%t of a terrori-in"oression. Did she have a choice2 1hat ro!a!ly would have haenedhad she refused his 0lovin"0 advances. 1as the ro!a!le ima"e of herraist as 0"od0 a choice on her art2 7o matter their historians latest lies,/homas and ally were not eual tradin" artners.

0/he #ey to this understandin" is, of course, in the fact that the #inds ofuestions as#ed redetermine the tye of answers ossi!le.0 +uroeanscholars and their minority clones who fa!ricate a humane enslaver andoveremhasi-e the relative imortance of enslaved men rain" enslavedwomen and e%tend this relationshi into today are also helin" to a!solvethe masters !ehavior !y hi"hli"htin" that of his catives. 1hile under anycircumstances rae is unconsciona!le, the se%ual e%loitation of owerlessfemale slaves !y owerless male slaves is uantitatively different from that

erformed on Afri#an women !y unrelentin", se% cra-ed +uroean males./his is not a!out se%ism. e%ist atriarchy is as innate to western cultureas racism is. 1e must come to understand

...the dia!olical nature of those who are aware that what they !elieve is a lie and what theydo is wron", !ut use lies and sycholo"ical maniulation to dama"e the minds of other

eole. /he individuals who sread misinformation and cause sycholo"ical dama"eintentionally, fully aware of what they are doin", are different from those who are

sycholo"ically dama"ed. /he a"ent of this sychosis is worse than those whose minds are oisoned to !elieve racist ideas and act uon them.../his is a sic#ness of a different #ind.

/he roa"anda overemhasi-in" the role of the enslaved durin" theMaafa hels normali-e and overshadow the desica!le deeds of the



lantocracy and lesser +uroean males. $t "ives the imression thatenslaved Afri#an men colla!orated with their 0friend,0 the economicallycomelled !ut otherwise decent +uroean male, in the terrorism andsu!&u"ation of Afri#an women. $t is simly another instance ofuniversali-in" an e%treme +uroean !ehavior to induce the aearance ofinnocence and rationali-e as uncontrolla!le the influence of caitalismover an otherwise morally and ethically ustandin" eole.

Another idea, defensively wormed into the colorism de!ate, that the ran"ein color found amon" Afri#ans is the result of slaves !ein" harvested fromall over the Afri#an continent, is also misleadin", distractin" and untrue.Research clearly and uneuivocally roves that the Afri#ans enslaved andraed !y +uroeans almost e%clusively came from the western re"ion of

middle Afri#a. 3urther, when discussin" comle%ion in "eneral, a surveyof the ran"e of color on the Continent shows that today, li#e four centuriesa"o, most Afri#ans who are of li"hter comle%ion are the result of theinfusion of +uroean and Ara!ian !lood and rimarily reside in thesouthern and northern most re"ions. Most slaves were of dar# comle%ion.+ven if this were not roven fact it would !e common sense "iven thevisual evidence. 8ave you seen ictures of li"ht comle%ioned Afri#ans inchains in route to the Americas2 /his inuiry also commonsensically

alies to deictions of slave auctions, the enslaved in the fields who"reatly outnum!ered the 0house slaves0 as well as a si"nificant num!er ofthe free Afri#ans who were merely ?.= of the oulation as counted nearthe end of slavery.

3inally in this discussion of family relations, those usin" the endearin"e%cuse that most Afri#ans have at least one dro of +uroean !lood as anindication of a natural "enetic !asis for racial harmony tend to see# a

!iolo"ical &ustification for their already "reater attachment to +uroeans

than Afri#ans. $f anythin", the reco"nition of raes ervasiveness andviciousness should rovide the !asis for revolutionary thin#in".3or"iveness is not the ro!lem. 3or"etfulness is.

All of this discussion oints us toward the Afri#an 1ay. /he artificial andimosed s#in tone distinctions !rou"ht a!out throu"h the rae of Afri#anwomen !y +uroean men reresent the model of divisiveness amon"Afri#ans and comlimentary imitation of the +uroean racial hierarchythat we see# to destroy and redefine alon" Afri#an lines of family. 1e can

not afford to allow our children to articiate in and ass on thismenticidal nonsense. $t must sto now, with us. 7ya!in"a.



Larry D. Crawford has !een an Assistant Professor of ociolo"y atMorehouse Colle"e since ?@@?, and has !een reco"ni-ed for his dedicationto students and community ali#e. 8e serves as the advisor to numerous

student or"ani-ations at Morehouse Colle"e as well as other institutions inthe Atlanta 4niversity Center.

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