A Note from Sarah L. Webb

PEER REVIEW.

Shades of Noir has been pleased to invite Sarah L. Webb to peer review this Terms of Reference.

Sarah L. Webb is a Ph.D. candidate in English who studies intersections of race, gender, literacy, and technology. In 2013, Sarah founded the website Colorism Healing through which she hosts annual writing contests, publishes books, and provides information and resources related to colorism. She has been a professional writer, teacher, and mentor since 2007, working in a range of industries such as universities, non-profits, small businesses, K-12 public education, magazines, and TV news. Her writing has been published in numerous places online, such as For Harriet and Blavity, and in print books and magazines such as Teaching Tolerance and Dig.

A NOTE FROM SARAH L. WEBB.

What it really takes to End Colorism

Whether you’ve known about colorism your entire life, or you’re just hearing about it for the first time, the inevitable question is: What can we do about it? Well, there’s no easy answer or quick fix. Colorism is as complicated as any other social problem. But we must start somewhere. The fact that you’re reading this issue of Terms of Reference is a good sign that we can and will make progress in our collective efforts to stop the cycle of colorism. The simple act of informing ourselves about colorism and actively engaging in the conversation is a core piece of the puzzle. Here, however, I want to talk less about what to do and more about what it takes, which builds a foundation for the doing.

In this issue of ToR, you’ll see one of the most diverse and thorough assemblages of works on colorism currently available. The writers provide unique insights on colorism through diverse perspectives of nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, history, and more. At the same time, the multi-genre, multi-media lenses help us break our usual habits of thinking about and discussing colorism.

In the five years since I’ve committed to publicly advocating to stop colorism, I’ve found that there is work we must do within ourselves before we can even begin to study and discuss the problem. In other words, we have to properly position ourselves to effectively address colorism. Over the years, here’s what I’ve observed in the people who step up and respond effectively to colorism. Many of the pieces you will read later in this ToR issue are great examples.

Courage and Honesty

Courage and honesty must be at the core of everything we say and do in the struggle to end colorism. Colorism is still one of those “controversial” issues that many people passionately disagree about. Every day I encounter people who react with anger and contempt to conversations about colorism. If you’re not ready or willing to deal with criticism, personal attacks, confrontation, and maybe even loss of relationships, then you won’t be effective in this fight. It’s going to take courage to speak up in a group of strangers or friends or family and denounce colorism.

And it takes courage to be honest. We can’t heal unless we know precisely what needs to be healed. Are we expressing insecurities about ourselves, or prejudices against others? Have we been hurt by someone? Or have we been the one to hurt others? Are we afraid to say how we really feel because of what others are going to think or say?

Several of the pieces in ToR, uncover past pain and reveal how chronic hurt impacts daily life and relationships. Addressing colorism requires courage, first and foremost,

because once we dig into the issue we will discover some painful truths about past hurts and our own ongoing complicity. But dig we must, so let’s proceed.

Whole Communities

An extremely valuable feature of the works presented here is the cross-cultural framework they collectively provide, providing perspectives ranging from the United States, to Australia, to Europe, and the Carribean. No matter what race or color, we have all been complicit in perpetuating colorism. Usually, when we talk about colorism in general conversations, we’re limited to the individual, interpersonal experience. Sometimes we only think of colorism as “that girl’s insecurity,” or “that girl’s low self-esteem,” or “that girl’s jealousy.” We often think of healing from colorism as “teaching dark-skinned people to love themselves.” But the global diversity represented in these articles demonstrates that the problem is much bigger than that.

Colorism is not just a personal problem. Colorism is a social problem, an international one. Colorism influences a society’s legal system, politics, educational system, healthcare system, crime and violence, and media. No social problem can exist or cease to exist without community level action.

Teaching dark brown people to love themselves is a worthy and necessary goal, but it’s often a cop-out for doing the additional, more difficult work of teaching the entire society to love dark brown people. Would we solve racism by merely teaching black and brown people to love themselves? Would we solve sexism by merely telling women they just need to love themselves? Would we solve homophobia by merely telling gays and lesbians to just take pride in who they are? You can love yourself all you want and still be negatively impacted by colorism in the larger society. All the self-love in the world won’t stop a kid from getting shot and killed because of how someone else perceives them.

Now, I’m all for self-love. I really am. But too often we pretend like that alone is the answer to colorism. Perhaps we’re too afraid, too self-absorbed, or too lazy to confront the rest of the problem. In order to really heal from colorism, we must seek to address it at the community level (just like we do with racism, sexism, or crime, etc.) and stop centering the problem and its solutions on the people who suffer from it.

Whole Families

I could have lumped this into the community section, but it’s such an important and complex piece of the puzzle that it needs to be singled out. For many people, the earliest and clearest ideas about skin color, hair texture, and facial features come from family members. This includes parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Although a lot of people point to the media as a primary factor in colorism, I think what goes on in our families is even more important. When we consume media, we’re merely observing strangers. Although those images are powerful, discrimination within our own families is actually a lived experience that directly involves us and those we have intimate relationships with, making it that much more painful and traumatic. And our generational legacies of colorism get passed down through both biology and nurturing.

We see and hear from writers and artists in the following pages how relationships with

family members shaped their pivotal experiences with colorism early in life. Some of the writers here tell stories of generational trauma as well as breaking the familial cycle.

The family’s role in healing colorism is twofold. First, families must say and do as many positive things as possible to promote self-love and affirm the worth and beauty of all family members. Second, families must openly and lovingly address instances of colorism whenever they happen. Ignoring, laughing off, or excusing an act of colorism is just as bad as committing an act of colorism. Most of us just let tough or potentially confrontational situations slip by without saying anything. But in the words of Audre Lorde: “Your silence will not protect you.” And it certainly will not help to end colorism. Many victims of colorism within families believe they have no voice and no ally. You can be the courageous person in your family who saves your niece, nephew, cousin, daughter, son, brother, or sister by affirming them and standing up for them whenever you see colorism happening.

Individuals

In order to heal families and communities, we must heal ourselves. You know how the saying goes: “Hurt people, hurt people.” Until we deal with our own individual issues, whether it’s prejudice or insecurity, we’re likely to continue spreading the germ of colorism. The world doesn’t need our colorism germs.

Throughout this ToR issue, we witness individuals who have held themselves accountable. They have taken the responsibility to reflect and communicate their truths through various media. Each contributor is a real example of what stepping up, of what doing something looks like. In other words, the doing is as different as the doers.

Persistent Action Over Time

I saved this one for last because if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably committed to actually working to end colorism. This will separate those who think colorism is an interesting topic for discussion from those, like you, who are ready to do something to end it. When I talk to some people about colorism, they seem shocked that this is still going on. I question that reaction because we all know that problems don’t just go away on their own. What makes these people think that colorism should have just evaporated overtime all by itself? The world needs you to help put an end to colorism. Now that you know what it really takes, are you up for the challenge?

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