Colourism

 Colourism is discrimination against dark-skinned people. It comes from within the community as well as without, and is an issue across many races.

All black women face prejudice, but the truth is that mixed-raced and lighter-skinned black women have been granted a degree of privilege.

 Research looking at 12,000 female prisoners in North Carolina found that sentences for lighter-skinned women are, on average, 12% shorter than for dark-skinned inmates.

 In 2014, the founder of dating website OkCupid shared data showing that dark-skinned black women are the least likely to be approached on his site. 

Even the UK passport system is biased: according to a BBC investigation last year, women with the darkest skin were four times more likely to have their photograph rejected than those with the lightest skin.

Even in the playground, I was told my skin was too dark: it’s time to face up to colourism | Race | The Guardian

Some background reading

Material World: Colour Prejudice – spgb.net (worldsocialism.org)

Indians Take a Stand Against Skin Whitening – Baltimore Independent