Colorism and Racism

Let's talk about it: what our community said

Printed replies from readers on our page-2 conversation.

• “My step-grandfather looked white. He had light skin, hair, and eyes, but he was Puerto Rican, and his mother’s side of the family came from Spain. He would listen to people talking recklessly around him and wait until the last minute to randomly start speaking to them in Spanish. It was hilarious because no one ever knew he was Puerto Rican until he spoke Spanish or told them his name.”

  Aivilo Nampahc

• “We are a mixture of white and Indigenous, and because of the slave trade, some people also have Black ancestry. I usually check ‘white’ because they do not allow me to check the Indigenous box unless I am Native American from the United States. Mexican Indigenous tribes are not always recognized on those forms.”

  Stella Mélusine Seraphima

• “My children are Mexican, Black, and Native American. I will encourage them to identify as Black regardless of their appearance because it seems that African features and darker skin are still viewed negatively in many cultures.”

  Askew Melvin

• “In my family, ‘mejorar la raza’ was implied as marrying someone taller. Then again, we are pretty darn white. My boyfriend is 6’3” and I’m 5’4”, so I joke that I’m doing my best to ‘better the race.’”

  Daniela Cosio

• “I have the darkest skin in my family. Personally, I have not experienced racism as a barrier in my career, and I have been able to excel despite my skin color. I do believe Hollywood and the film industry can be major contributors to colorism because people of color are often typecast. In my experience in the private sector, results matter. If you deliver, you are rewarded for your talent and contributions.”

  Martin Vazquez

• “My family is an example of colorism. We are Panamanian. My father and his brothers are Black, but when they married, whether consciously or unconsciously, they all married much lighter-skinned Panamanian women. Only one of my cousins is light-skinned. The rest of us came out darker. Then hair texture came into play. I have looser, softer curls, what some would consider ‘desirable’ hair, versus what is sometimes called cabello duro.”

  Janeth James

• “This is such an important topic and conversation. Thank you for bringing awareness to it. I have experienced colorism within my own family. My grandmother is from Trinidad, and although colorism is a problem in many places, it is also very prevalent in the Caribbean. My grandmother treated her own children differently, and she also treated each of us grandchildren differently.”

  Crystal Rose Warner

• “It is so sad. My grandmother would tell me stories about people trying to bleach their skin. Her attitude toward her own children and grandchildren also made the differences very obvious. We all had different shades of brown and different features, and she made it very clear who her favorites were.”

  Marisa Wells

• “I have lived this my entire life. I have never felt brown enough, yet I have never felt white enough either. I ‘pass,’ and I understand the privilege that has given me. My married last name is Caucasian, so I choose to hyphenate my name because I do not want to lose that part of my identity.”

  Lisa Garcia-Payne

• “I love that we are building awareness about colorism. I have personally been affected by it, and I believe it should be discussed more openly in our families and communities. All shades, all colors, and all Latinas are beautiful and deserve to be treated fairly.”

  Brooke Tort

• “This is very true. Many white people assume I am white because of my lighter skin tone and because I speak English fluently. People who know me and know my background do not usually make that assumption. It shows how quickly people can make judgments about someone’s identity based only on appearance.”

  Adolfo Cobos