The fog of anti-Blackness: Colorism’s lifelong impact on Black females and its implications for educators

While race has been at the forefront of educational research, the intersection of race and skin tone stratification has not been thoroughly studied. Colorism, the preferential treatment based on skin tone is a systemic societal problem that occurs interculturally and intraculturally and has impacted the lives of many Black women within America and globally. This narrative study examined how Black women who were educated in the United States experienced colorism from preschool to adulthood. As school is a microcosm of our society, colorist ideologies find normative spaces in a student’s daily encounters. Educators might not be aware of how colorism affects their students in and out of school. This qualitative research study was conducted by interviewing 11 participants over the age of 22 through semi-structured interviews. Using the semi-structured interview allowed for participants to provide detailed insight into their experience with colorism from external influences identified from the conceptual framework such as (a) family, (b) society, (c) media, (d) peer groups, and (e) educational institutions. Additionally, the participants provided details regarding how the external influences were internalized in areas such as (a) self-worth, (b) friendships, (c) stereotype threat, (d) attractiveness, (e) educational attainment, and (f) intelligence. The narratives from the eleven women described their frustration toward colorist ideologies and stereotypes that are often perpetuated by society and experienced as early as preschool. The formative years of preschool through 12th grade are crucial in children’s prosocial development. This is especially the case for females of color as they begin to assign and internalize positive or negative attributes to skin color very early in life. Using Critical Race Theory as the theoretical framework, the narratives from the study provides testimonials to the endemic nature of colorism and possible strategies to combat it.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Anderson, Shannon Denise

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hood, Denice
• Pak, Yoon
• Hale, Jon
• Kang, Hyun-Sook
• Webb, Sarah

• colorism, education, equity, diversity, skin-tone bias, anti-blackness, gender bias, African-Americans, Black people, teacher education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Shannon Anderson

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113132

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/113132