View source for Discrimination based on skin tone

{{short description|Form of prejudice or discrimination}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}

{{Discrimination sidebar|expanded=Attributes}}

'''Discrimination based on skin tone''', also known as '''colorism''' or '''shadeism''', is a form of [[prejudice]] and [[discrimination]] in which individuals of the same race receive benefits or disadvantages based on the color of their skin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norwood |first1=Kimberly |title=If You Is White, You's Alright... |journal=Stories About Colorism in America |date=2015 |volume=14 |issue=4 |url=https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol14/iss4/8}}</ref> More specifcally, colorism is the process of discrimination marginalizes darker-skinned people over their lighter-skinned counter parts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=Margaret |title=The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality |journal=Sociology Compass |date=2007 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=237-254 |url=https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/deib-explorer/files/the_persistent_problem_of_colorism.pdf}}</ref> Historically, colorism on a global scale has colonial roots, ranging from early class hierarchies in Asia to it's impact on Latinos and African Americans through European colonialism and slavery in the Americas.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=Margaret |title=The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality |journal=Sociology Compass |date=2007 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=237-254 |url=https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/deib-explorer/files/the_persistent_problem_of_colorism.pdf |access-date=5 June 2025}}</ref>

Colorism focuses on how [[racism]] is expressed in the psychology of a people and how it affects their concepts of beauty, wealth, and privilege. A key difference between racism and colorism is that while racism deals with the subjugation of one group by another or the belief in racial supremacy, colorism deals with in-group discrimination in addition to between-group discrimination.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sanz Espinar |first=Gemma |date=2022 |title=Hacia un nuevo MCER. Objetivo: mediación |journal=Çédille |issue=22 |pages=513–519 |doi=10.25145/j.cedille.2022.22.29 |s2cid=254768115 |issn=1699-4949}}</ref>

Research has uncovered extensive evidence of [[discrimination]] based on skin color in [[criminal justice]], [[business]], the [[Economic discrimination|economy]], [[housing]], [[health care]], the [[Mass media|media]], and [[politics]] in the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. In addition, there has been research that evidently shows biases based on skin color in the educational system. Students of color are facing higher education costs and inequalities in advanced programs and are targeted by their teachers or peers from other marginalized groups. In addition to this issue being documented in the United States, lighter skin tones have been considered preferable in many countries in [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Latin America]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jablonski |first=Nina G. |date=2021 |title=Skin color and race |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=175 |issue=2 |pages=437–447 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.24200 |issn=0002-9483 |pmc=8247429 |pmid=33372701}}</ref>

Although less historically significant, prejudice within groups can also be applied toward lighter-skinned people. This is referred to as '''reverse colorism'''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Ronald |title=Being light-skinned can lead to 'reverse colorism' in many parts of the world |url=https://theconversation.com/being-light-skinned-can-lead-to-reverse-colorism-in-many-parts-of-the-world-190189 |website=The Conversation |date=8 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> 

== Worldwide ==
{{main|Racism by country}}

[[Racism]] affects almost every aspect of contemporary life. Research shows that ethnic minorities are offered fewer opportunities in higher education and employment, are subject to increased scrutiny by police, and are less likely to receive adequate care from physicians.<ref name=":26">{{Cite journal|last1=West|first1=Keon|last2=Greenland|first2=Katy|last3=Laar|first3=Colette|date=2021-05-12|title=Implicit racism, colour blindness, and narrow definitions of discrimination: Why some White people prefer 'All Lives Matter' to 'Black Lives Matter'|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12458|journal=British Journal of Social Psychology|volume=60|issue=4|pages=1136–1153|doi=10.1111/bjso.12458|pmid=33977556|s2cid=234474038 |issn=0144-6665}}</ref>

Several meta-analyses find extensive evidence of ethnic and [[racial discrimination]] in hiring in the North American and European labor markets.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |first=Judith |last=Rich |title=What Do Field Experiments of Discrimination in Markets Tell Us? A Meta Analysis of Studies Conducted Since 2000 |journal=IZA Discussion Paper No. 8584 |date=November 2014 |ssrn=2517887}}</ref><ref name="tests–2015" /><ref name="Field Exp">{{Cite journal|title=Field Experiments of Discrimination in the Market Place |doi=10.1111/1468-0297.00080|author1=P. A. Riach |author2=J. Rich|journal=The Economic Journal|volume=112|issue=483|pages=F480–F518|date=November 2002|s2cid=19024888|url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/fieldexperiments-papers2/papers/00328.pdf}}</ref> A 2016 meta-analysis of 738 correspondence tests in 43 separate studies done in OECD countries in 1990–2015 finds that there is extensive racial discrimination within both the European and North American hiring processes.<ref name="tests–2015">{{Cite journal|last1=Zschirnt|first1=Eva|last2=Ruedin|first2=Didier|date=2016-05-27|title=Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: a meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015|journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies|volume=42|issue=7|pages=1115–1134|doi=10.1080/1369183X.2015.1133279|url=https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/142176/1/Zschirnt%20Ruedin%202016%20Meta%20Pre-Print.pdf|hdl=10419/142176|s2cid=10261744|access-date=2018-05-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104035433/https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/142176/1/Zschirnt%20Ruedin%202016%20Meta%20Pre-Print.pdf|archive-date=2018-11-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> Equivalent minority candidates need to send around 50% more applications than majority candidates to be invited for an interview.<ref name="tests–2015" /> Recent research in the U.S. shows that socioeconomic and health inequality among African Americans along the color-continuum is often similar or even larger in magnitude than what exists between whites and African Americans.<ref name="Monk 396–444">{{Cite journal|last=Monk|first=Ellis P.|s2cid=10357627|date=2015-09-01|title=The Cost of Color: Skin Color, Discrimination, and Health among African-Americans |journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=121|issue=2|pages=396–444|doi=10.1086/682162|pmid=26594713}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Monk|first=Ellis P.|date=2014-06-01|title=Skin Tone Stratification among Black Americans, 2001–2003 |journal=Social Forces|volume=92|issue=4|pages=1313–1337|doi=10.1093/sf/sou007|s2cid=145107271}}</ref>

== Africa ==
{{main|Racism in Africa}}

[[Skin whitening|Skin-whitening]] treatments and colorism inside of own ethnicity is more common in [[West Africa|West]] and [[Southern Africa|South]] parts of Africa. <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Egbi |first1=O. G. |last2=Kasia |first2=B. |date=2021-05-20 |title=Prevalence, determinants and perception of use of skin lightening products among female medical undergraduates in Nigeria |journal=Skin Health and Disease |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=e46 |doi=10.1002/ski2.46 |issn=2690-442X |pmc=9060047 |pmid=35663132}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Agyei-Boateng |first=Akua |date=2020-07-06 |title=Colorism in Africa |url=https://thevoiceofafrica.com/2020/07/06/colorism-in-africa/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=The Voice of Africa |language=en-US}}</ref>

In some parts of [[Africa]], people with lighter skin are thought to be more attractive and likely to find more success than those with darker skin tones.<ref name=":20">{{Cite news |last1=Fihlani |first1=Pumza |date=January 2013 |title=Africa: Where black is not really beautiful |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20444798}}</ref> In some countries, this barrier has resulted in millions of women and men turning to [[skin-lightening]] treatments, many of which are harmful to the body.<ref name="BackhausOkunmwendia">{{cite web |surname=Backhaus |given=Anne |date=2020-06-16 |title=Skin Bleaching in Ghana: "When You Are Light-Skinned, You Earn More" |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/skin-bleaching-in-ghana-when-you-are-light-skinned-you-earn-more-a-3a46c628-23b2-4d05-9d32-6cb6deeb4a5a |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001234949/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/skin-bleaching-in-ghana-when-you-are-light-skinned-you-earn-more-a-3a46c628-23b2-4d05-9d32-6cb6deeb4a5a-amp |archive-date=2020-10-01 |website=[[Spiegel International]] |publisher=[[Der Spiegel (website)|Der Spiegel]] |surname2=Okunmwendia |given2=Ella |department=Global Societies}}</ref>

Historically, skin lightening in Africa can be dated to European colonialism, where individuals with lighter skin received greater privilege than those of darker tones.<ref name=":21">{{Cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=Meagan |last2=Levine |first2=Susan |last3=Abney |first3=Kate |last4=Davids |first4=Lester |year=2016 |title=Fifty shades of African lightness: A bio-psychosocial review of the global phenomenon of skin lightening practices |journal=Journal of Public Health in Africa |volume=7 |issue=2 |page=552 |doi=10.4081/jphia.2016.552 |pmc=5345401 |pmid=28299156}}</ref> European colonists in [[Rwanda]] established a color-based caste system that placed the [[Tutsi people]] above the [[Hutu people]] on the basis of their somewhat lighter skin, leading to the development of racialized political identities that had not existed in Rwanda before colonialism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weisband |first1=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rxPvCgAAQBAJ&dq=tutsi+%22racialized%22%22&pg=PT243 |title=Political Culture and the Making of Modern Nation-States |last2=Thomas |first2=Courtney I. P. |date=17 November 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-25409-6 |page=243 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rossatto |first1=Cesar Augusto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lU97AAAAQBAJ&dq=tutsi+%22racialize%22&pg=PA15 |title=Reinventing Critical Pedagogy: Widening the Circle of Anti-Oppression Education |last2=Allen |first2=Ricky Lee |last3=Pruyn |first3=Marc |date=24 October 2006 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4616-4300-5 |page=15 |language=en}}</ref> The racial hierarchy and color ranking within colonized African nations left psychological effects on many of the darker-skinned individuals.<ref name=":21" /><ref name="BackhausOkunmwendia" />

In the 21st century, 77% of [[Nigeria]]n women, 52% of [[Senegal]]ese women, and 25% of [[Mali]]an women are using lightening products.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":21" /> ''[[Der Spiegel (website)|Der Spiegel]]'' reports that in Ghana, "When You Are Light-Skinned, You Earn More", and that "[s]ome pregnant women take tablets in the hopes that it will lead their child to be born with fair skin. Some apply bleaching lotion [...] to their babies, in the hopes that it will improve their child's chances."<ref name="BackhausOkunmwendia" />

==Asia==
{{main|Racism in Asia}}In [[South Asia]], a preference for lighter skin is prevalent.<ref name="Skin Deep: Dying to be White" /> However, [[East Asian]] countries tend to embrace their natural skin tone.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=P.H. |first1=Li, Eric |last2=Jeong |first2=Min, Hyun |last3=W. |first3=Belk, Russell |date=2008-01-01 |title=Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures |url=http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/13415/volumes/v35/NA-35 |url-status=dead |journal=NA – Advances in Consumer Research |volume=35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618001443/http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/13415/volumes/v35/NA-35 |archive-date=2019-06-18 |access-date=2016-10-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In the dark: what is behind India's obsession with skin whitening? |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2016/01/dark-what-behind-india-s-obsession-skin-whitening |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618001507/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2016/01/dark-what-behind-india-s-obsession-skin-whitening |archive-date=2019-06-18 |access-date=2017-03-12}}</ref><ref name="newyorker">{{cite magazine |last=Purnell |first=Newley |date=2013-10-31 |title=Images Spark Racism Debate in Thailand |url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2013/11/images-spark-racism-debate-in-thailand.html |access-date=2021-03-26 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>

=== East Asia ===
The history of skin color discrimination in East Asia dates back to ancient times. In the ancient dynastic eras, being light-skinned implied wealth and nobility, because those privileged persons could stay indoors while servants had to labor outside.<ref name="Skin Deep: Dying to be White">{{Cite news |date=2002-05-15 |title=Skin Deep: Dying to be White |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/13/asia.whitening/ |access-date=2010-09-08 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

The old preference for light-skinned women in East Asia is quite different from Western culture, where women of tan and brown complexions are preferred. Bonnie Adrian writes that American culture makes white women feel inferior for having pale complexions and reddish features, and that she risked skin cancer and wrinkles trying to darken her pale skin.<ref name="Adrian 2003 p. 165">{{cite book | last=Adrian | first=B. | title=Framing the Bride: Globalizing Beauty and Romance in Taiwan's Bridal Industry | publisher=University of California Press | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-520-23834-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=saYwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 | access-date=2023-08-04 | page=165}}</ref>

However, according to 21st-century research, women in [[China]] have recently asserted tan skin as the new female beauty ideal. According to Tai Wei Lim, Chinese women in the media now sport bronze complexions, and this is viewed as a reclamation of women's autonomy from the fading Chinese patriarchy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lim |first1=Tai Wei |title=Women Hold Up Half The Sky: The Political-economic And Socioeconomic Narratives Of Women In China |date=22 February 2021 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-12-2620-5 |pages=47–48 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2MhEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 |language=en}}</ref> 

Despite this shift, colourism in China remains prevalent and is increasingly shaped by digital platforms. Algorithms on social media platforms such as Douyin or Rednote often privilege lighter-skinned influencers, reinforcing implicit biases through visibility and engagement metrics. While counter narratives exist they remain marginal and are sometimes commodified. Moreover, beauty standards continue to reflect broader regional hierarchies, with East Asian media often favouring lighter-skinned Korean and Japanese aesthetics, further marginalizing Southeast Asian and ethnic minorities representations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelsky |first=Karen L. |date=2004 |title=Review of Minority Rules: The Miao and the Feminine in China's Cultural Politics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3567010 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=106 |issue=2 |pages=427–427 |issn=0002-7294}}</ref> Access to advanced skin-lightening treatments, like glutathione infusions or laser therapies, has also become a class marker, signalling economic privilege in urban beauty culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women’s Disempowerment and Preferences for Skin Lightening Products That Reinforce Colorism: Experimental Evidence From India |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/0361684321993796 |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=journals.sagepub.com |language=en |doi=10.1177/0361684321993796}}</ref>

==== Japan ====
{{main|Racism in Japan|Light skin in Japanese culture}}
Hiroshi Wagatsuma writes in [[Daedalus (journal)|''Daedalus'']] that [[Culture of Japan|Japanese culture]] has long associated [[Human skin color|skin color]] with other physical characteristics that signify degrees of spiritual refinement or degrees of primitiveness.<ref name=":10">
{{Cite journal|last=Wagatsuma|first=Hiroshi|year=1967|title=The Social Perception of Skin Color in Japan|journal=Daedalus|volume=96|issue=2|pages=407–443}}
</ref>

In Japan, there is considerable discrimination and stigma against the skin color of white [[Europe]]an women. Japanese women commonly state that white women's skin is too pale, or that it is rough, [[wrinkle]]d, or has too many spots.<ref name="AminaMire">{{cite book |last1=Mire |first1=Amina |title=Wellness in Whiteness: Biomedicalization and the Promotion of Whiteness and Youth among Women |date=4 September 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-23412-2 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TKtDwAAQBAJ&dq=white+skin+japan+symbolizes&pg=PT114 |language=en |quote=My informants, mainly women insisted that Japanese skin was superior to Caucasian skin. Although many of my informants had little personal contact with Westerners, they all made more or less identical negative comments about Caucasian women's skin, saying, for example, that it was rough, aged quickly and had too many spots [...] with color resembling 'shabu-shabu'....}}</ref>

=== Middle East ===
{{Main|Skin lightening in the Middle East}}

[[Skin whitening|Skin lightening]] is a common practice in [[Jordan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Ronald E. |date=20 February 2021 |title=Women of color spend more than $8 billion on bleaching creams worldwide every year |url=https://theconversation.com/women-of-color-spend-more-than-8-billion-on-bleaching-creams-worldwide-every-year-153178 |access-date=20 July 2024 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> The use of skin lightening products in the Middle East has been attributed to the desire for upword social mobility and attractiveness.<ref name="saudi2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Alrayyes |first1=Sarah Fahad |last2=Alrayyes |first2=Saad Fahad |last3=Farooq Dar |first3=Umar |date=2020 |title=Skin-lightening practices behind the veil: An epidemiological study among Saudi women |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31058398/ |journal=Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=147–153 |doi=10.1111/jocd.12972 |issn=1473-2165 |pmid=31058398 |via=[[PubMed]]}}</ref><ref name="jordan2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Hamed |first1=Saja H. |last2=Tayyem |first2=Reema |last3=Nimer |first3=Nisreen |last4=Alkhatib |first4=Hatim S. |date=2010 |title=Skin-lightening practice among women living in Jordan: prevalence, determinants, and user's awareness |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20465697/ |journal=International Journal of Dermatology |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=414–420 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-4632.2010.04463.x |issn=1365-4632 |pmid=20465697 |via=[[PubMed]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Prusher |first=Ilene R. |date=28 December 2009 |title=Skin whitening cream finds new popularity among Palestinian women |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1228/Skin-whitening-cream-finds-new-popularity-among-Palestinian-women |access-date=20 July 2024 |website=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref>

=== South Asia ===
====India====
{{main|Ethnic relations in India}}
The implications of colorism in India have been apparent since the nation's conception. The legacies of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]], Northern, and European colonial rule on the [[Indian subcontinent]] have influenced modern relations between light skin and power dynamics.<ref name=":9"/> Multiple studies have concluded that preference for lighter skin in India is historically linked to both the [[Caste system in India|caste system]] and centuries of rule by peoples from other areas: [[Persia]], Mughal territory, and [[Colonial India|Europe]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shankar|first=Ravi|date=2007|title=Fair Skin in South Asia: an obsession?|url=http://jpad.com.pk/index.php/jpad/article/viewFile/695/668|journal=Journal of Pakistan Association of Dermatologists|volume=17|pages=100–104}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mishra|first=Neha|title=India and Colorism: The Finer Nuances|url=https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1553&context=law_globalstudies|journal=Washington University Global Studies Law Review|volume=14}}</ref>

Although light skin is seen as beautiful within India, this only applies to 'Indian' light skin, which is not as light as European skin.<ref name="Princeton2025" /> Very light skin is considered abnormal within India, and neither light eyes nor light hair are considered beautiful.<ref name="Princeton2025">{{cite book |last1=Jesús |first1=Aisha M. Beliso-De |last2=Pierre |first2=Jemima |last3=Rana |first3=Junaid |title=The Anthropology of White Supremacy: A Reader |date=28 January 2025 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-25819-5 |pages=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bAXEQAAQBAJ&dq=vedas+light+skin&pg=PA99 |language=en}}</ref> Channa writes that there is a folk-based prejudice against very light skin, and especially light eyes on women.<ref name="Princeton2025" /> Channa recalls how her grandmother told her that green or blue eyes are unattractive features for a woman to have, and further suggests that these features may be associated with ancient invaders or outsiders within India.<ref name="Princeton2025" />

Colorism in India was also fed by the attitudes of Europeans, who favored lighter-skinned people for administrative positions and other prominent social positions, so power was conceptually intertwined with light skin.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thappa|title=Skin color matters in India|url=https://www.pigmentinternational.com/article.asp?issn=2349-5847;year=2014;volume=1;issue=1;spage=2;epage=4;aulast=Thappa|access-date=2021-10-15|journal=Pigment International|year=2014|volume=1|page=2|doi=10.4103/2349-5847.135419|s2cid=178991050 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Rich Indians often tend to be light-skinned due to less exposure to the sun. Also, individuals were judged by their occupation. Being born into a lineage of farmers, for example, would typically make one unable to leave said lineage. Migration between occupations was rare, and though the caste system's legality was altered in 1948, it is still influential and practiced in many parts of the country.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Singh|first=Indervir|date=2012|title=Social Norms and Occupational Choice: The Case of Caste Systems in India|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313397025|journal=Indian Journal of Economics and Business|volume=11|issue=2|pages=431–454}}</ref> As these factors generated the caste system, it grew to include both economic standing and societal positioning.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jayawardene|first=Sureshi|date=December 2016|title=Racialized Casteism: Exposing the Relationship Between Race, Caste, and Colorism Through the Experiences of Africana People in India and Sri Lanka|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44508183|journal=Journal of African American Studies|volume=20|issue=3/4|pages=323–345|doi=10.1007/s12111-016-9333-5|jstor=44508183|s2cid=152002116}}</ref> Existing prejudices also influenced European officials. This sentiment remains.

Colorism has societal implications, many of which severely harm the socioeconomic mobility of darker-skinned Indians. These can manifest in gender stereotyping and regional discrimination. Studies of melanin index (MI) in individuals across regions show that there are variations in skin color, which contribute to the level of discrimination darker-skinned individuals face in these respective regions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Iliescu|first1=Florin Mircea|last2=Chaplin|first2=George|last3=Rai|first3=Niraj|last4=Jacobs|first4=Guy S.|last5=Mallick|first5=Chandana Basu|last6=Mishra|first6=Anshuman|last7=Thangaraj|first7=Kumarasamy|last8=Jablonski|first8=Nina G.|date=2018|title=The influences of genes, the environment, and social factors on the evolution of skin color diversity in India|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajhb.23170|journal=American Journal of Human Biology|language=en|volume=30|issue=5|pages=e23170|doi=10.1002/ajhb.23170|pmid=30099804|hdl=20.500.11820/435c03a5-a3ca-4046-aa50-c81c38d08645|s2cid=51966049|issn=1520-6300}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jensen|first=Kari B.|date=2020|title=Colorism in Bangladeshi Society|url=https://doi.org/10.21690/foge/2020.63.2f|journal=Focus on Geography|volume=63|doi=10.21690/foge/2020.63.2f|s2cid=216266145}}</ref>  In some regions of India, dark-skinned people are often seen as "dirty" and of lower status than lighter-skinned ones. A light complexion is equated with male and female beauty, racial superiority, and power and continues to have strong influences on marital prospects, employment, status, and income.<ref name="Verma2011">{{cite journal| author=Verma, Harsh| title=Skin 'fairness'-Culturally Embedded Meaning and Branding Implications| journal=Global Business Review| volume=12| issue=2| year=2011| pages=207, 208| doi=10.1177/097215091101200202| s2cid=145725139 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254093189}}</ref> Most of the girls were denied employment due to their darker skin tone. A few got jobs, but only as out-of-sight ground crew.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mukherjee|first=Sayantan|date=2020-01-01|title=
Darker shades of "fairness" in India: Male attractiveness and colorism in commercials|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opli-2020-0007/html|journal=Open Linguistics|language=en|volume=6|issue=1|pages=225–248|doi=10.1515/opli-2020-0007|s2cid=219983420|issn=2300-9969}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sims|first1=Cynthia|last2=Hirudayaraj|first2=Malar|year=2015|title=The Impact of Colorism on the Career Aspirations and Career Opportunities of Women in India|journal=[[Advances in Developing Human Resources]]|volume=18|issue=I|pages=38–53|doi=10.1177/1523422315616339|s2cid=147087265}}</ref> According to Werdhani et al., persistent colorism is a legacy of the British colonization of India, during which Indian women were hyperfeminized and considered too demure for work by the colonizers, while Indian men were feminized and viewed as inferior to white men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wardhani|first1=Baiq|last2=Largis|first2=Era|last3=Dugis|first3=Vinsensio|date=2018-03-01|title=Colorism, Mimicry, and Beauty Construction in Modern India|url=https://journal.umy.ac.id/index.php/jhi/article/view/4714|journal=Jurnal Hubungan Internasional|language=en|volume=6|issue=2|pages=242–244|doi=10.18196/hi.62118|s2cid=194938008 |issn=2503-3883 |quote="It can be analyzed through Orientalist thesis where the world becomes Western and Orientals, where in the feminist perspective, Oriental women are passive, unable to express their voice (Hasan, 2009, p. 30). Western women are the opposite of non-western women or orientals women who are considered ignorant, submissive to patriarchal dominance, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound, domestic, family-oriented, and victimized"..."This is related to the existence of [[white supremacy]], in which the white male colonial is the most masculine and superior compared with the men of the colonized country." Anne McClintock (1995, p. 120) adds that colonized and territorial communities are feminized through conquest by masculine colonial powers. "Territory is one of the symbols of property in colonial patriarchy that must be mastered and owned, so that the occupied men will lose the symbol of its masculinity."}}</ref>
[[File:Indian Caste System.jpg|thumb|Graphic of the Indian caste system, displaying social classes and subcategories]]
Other forms of colorism in India can be seen in the cosmetic industry, where skin bleaching creams are popular.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fairandlovely.in|title=header test|website=fairandlovely-in|access-date=2019-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123349/https://www.fairandlovely.in/|archive-date=2018-12-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the Indian film and media industry, most hires are light-skinned, and actors and actresses are often [[photoshop]]ped to look lighter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/aug/14/indias-dark-obsession-fair-skin|title=India's unfair obsession with lighter skin|first=Monisha|last=Rajesh|date=14 August 2013|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sheth|first1=Sudev|last2=Jones|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Spencer|first3=Morgan|date=2021|title=Emboldening and Contesting Gender and Skin Color Stereotypes in the Film Industry in India, 1947–1991|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/emboldening-and-contesting-gender-and-skin-color-stereotypes-in-the-film-industry-in-india-19471991/DB3542DB83B71DFB788A551DC0378536|journal=Business History Review|language=en|volume=95|issue=3|pages=483–515|doi=10.1017/S0007680521000118|s2cid=236544369|issn=0007-6805}}</ref> Skin lightening cosmetics are shown to have significant side effects, which increase in frequency over time.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shroff|first1=Hemal|last2=Diedrichs|first2=Phillippa C.|last3=Craddock|first3=Nadia|date=2018|title=Skin Color, Cultural Capital, and Beauty Products: An Investigation of the Use of Skin Fairness Products in Mumbai, India|journal=Frontiers in Public Health|volume=5|pages=365|doi=10.3389/fpubh.2017.00365|issn=2296-2565|pmc=5787082|pmid=29410952|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018FrPH....5..365S }}</ref> It is a burden on one's mental health in a societal setting; users of skin creams, on average, remain dissatisfied with their complexion even after using the product. Unregulated products can contain harmful chemicals that can cause dermatitis, chemical burns, and, in severe cases, increase the likelihood of skin cancer and melanoma. As these mechanisms interplay with the presence of existent capitalistic institutions that control much of today's world, the skin-lightening industry benefits this system through the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kukreja|first=Reena|date=2021-02-01|title=Colorism as Marriage Capital: Cross-Region Marriage Migration in India and Dark-Skinned Migrant Brides|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220979633|journal=Gender & Society|language=en|volume=35|issue=1|pages=85–109|doi=10.1177/0891243220979633|s2cid=231840988|issn=0891-2432}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Elsevier: Article Locator Error - Article Not Available|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0037633710701753|access-date=2021-11-22|website=linkinghub.elsevier.com|doi=10.1016/s0037-6337(10)70175-3}}</ref> 

A CNN article describes the situation where a woman uses a topical steroid known for its side effect of skin lightening. Steroids are used to combat skin issues like eczema and only under the supervision of a doctor for brief periods as it is bad for your skin. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/11/health/skin-lightening-india-health-risks-intl-cmd/ | title='Fairness mania' is fueling a dangerous drug dependence in India | website=[[CNN]] }}</ref>

In the wake of the [[murder of George Floyd]], an African-American man in the United States, which led to [[George Floyd protests|protests]] against racism worldwide, the debate about [[colorism]] and skin tone in [[India]] has been discussed in several media outlets.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yasir |first1=Sameer |last2=Gettleman |first2=Jeffrey |title=India Debates Skin-Tone Bias as Beauty Companies Alter Ads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/world/asia/india-skin-color-unilever.html |work=The New York Times |date=28 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Black Lives Matter Gets Indians Talking About Skin Lightening And Colorism |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/09/860912124/black-lives-matter-gets-indians-talking-about-skin-lightening-and-colorism |work=NPR.org}}</ref> As part of the general critique, a big Indian matchmaking website, [[Shaadi.com]], removed a filter where one could mark skin color preferences for their potential partner.<ref>{{cite news |author=Melissa Mahtani |title=An Asian dating website has removed an option that asked users to specify their skin tone |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/24/us/shaadi-com-removes-skin-tone-filter-trnd/index.html |work=CNN}}</ref> Outside  India, dark-skinned individuals and immigrants are typically treated with the same low level of social respect and acceptance, similar to the experiences they endure within their country.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mazumdar|first=Sucheta|date=1989-05-01|title=Racist Responses to Racism: The Aryan Myth and South Asians in the United States|url=https://doi.org/10.1215/07323867-9-1-47|journal=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East|volume=9|issue=1|pages=47–55|doi=10.1215/07323867-9-1-47|issn=1089-201X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Hersch|first=Joni|date=2010-10-20|title=The Persistence of Skin Color Discrimination for Immigrants |language=en |ssrn=1695209}}</ref>

==== Sri Lanka ====
Fair skin is a beauty ideal in contemporary Sri Lankan society but has its roots in ancient beauty ideals in the country. Fairness products and other products that include whitening agents are commonly sold in Sri Lanka and are popular among females.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Fair-skin-obsession-An-inferiority-complex-that-needs-treatment/131-123403|title=Fair skin obsession: An inferiority complex that needs treatment – News Features &#124; Daily Mirror|website=www.dailymirror.lk}}</ref> Fair-skinned actors and actresses feature prominently in Bollywood films and [[Korean drama]]s, both of which are widely popular and influential in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://djedpress.com/2018/07/31/unfairandlovely-in-sri-lanka/|title=When Fair isn't fair and Lovely isn't lovely in Sri Lanka – Djed|date=31 July 2018}}</ref>

=== Southeast Asia ===
In certain Southeast Asian countries such as [[Malaysia]], a common beauty ideal is the "[[Eurasian]] look", locally known as the "pan-Asian look" in Malaysia.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 October 2012 |title=Miss Universe Malaysia pageant contestants 'look too western' |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1053286/miss-universe-malaysia-pageant-contestants-look-too-western}}</ref> The overuse of pan-Asian faces on billboards and on television screens has been a controversial issue in the country. The issue was highlighted in 2009 when [[Zainuddin Maidin]], a Malaysian politician, called for the reduction of pan-Asian faces, which he claimed dominated TV and billboards, and instead to increase the number of Malay, Chinese, and Indian faces on local television.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malaysian ads move triggers industry row – Chinadaily.com.cn |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-02/09/content_805345.htm |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref>

In Indonesia, the 'Eurasian look' can be traced to beauty ideals established by white male colonists from [[the Netherlands]]. White [[Dutch people|Dutch]] male colonists were enamored by the brown skin color and [[black hair]] of Indonesian women. They considered Eurasian Indonesian women's darker complexions as more beautiful than the pale-skinned, [[Blond|blond-haired]] complexions of white Dutch women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gouda |first1=Frances |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nN6G-lMk_DEC&pg=PA167 |title=Dutch Culture Overseas: Colonial Practice in the Netherlands Indies, 1900-1942 |date=2008 |publisher=Equinox Publishing |isbn=978-979-3780-62-7 |page=167 |language=en}} "Du Bois seemed unaware of the prurience implicit in his report to the
State Department in Washington D.C. Women whose complexion possessed a soft sienna incandescence and whose hair was shiny black comprised a particularly handsome "specimen" of womanhood, he insinuated,  which male-defined aesthetic norms ranked higher than pallid, anemic "samples" of European femininity."</ref> The frequency at which young Dutch men married Indo women was considered an embarrassment for the conservative element of Dutch society.<ref>{{harvnb|Gouda|2008|p=167|ps=: "Half-caste women in the Dutch East Indies are fine physical specimens, varying in skin color from golden brown to nearly white, the constant characteristics being lustrous black eyes and wavy hair. To the average man, the young half-caste is physically more attractive than the pure-blooded Dutch woman. This is born out by the fact that young Dutch bachelors marry half-caste girls with a frequency embarrassing to the conservative Dutch element."}}</ref> The legacy of this 'Eurasian' beauty ideal continues to be reflected in local literature, as it was written in a popular novel that "a golden colored skin is the greatest gift Allah can
bestow upon a woman", in reference to a blonde-haired girl who did not inherit her grandmother's complexion.<ref>{{harvnb|Gouda|2008|p=167|ps=: "In her heart-rending  novel, The Moon on the Water,  Elvire Spier recently described the sorrow experienced by a little blond-haired girl, born in to an old Indies family in the Praenger, whose lily-white skin no longer exuded the bronzed radiance of  her mother's or grandmother's complexion. Her Sundanese great-grandmother commiserated with her anguish about her rosy-colored cheeks, because a koelit langsep, "a golden colored skin is the greatest gift Allah can bestow upon a woman"."}}</ref>

Despite the controversy surrounding the preference for Malaysians who are of mixed Asian (Malay, Chinese, or Indian) and European descent and possess features such as fair skin, some other experts in the industry have said that the use of pan-Asian faces can be used to promote the racial diversity of Malaysians. As the Minister of Information had suggested in 1993, such faces can also be used to promote a product to a diverse racial demographic because of their mixed appearance.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kemper |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqIzh1StFiwC&pg=PA153 |title=Buying and Believing: Sri Lankan Advertising and Consumers in a Transnational World |date=1 May 2001 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226430409 |page=153}}</ref>

== Caribbean ==
{{Main|Colorism in the Caribbean}}

In Haiti, skin bleaching to lighten one’s skin, [[Brown Paper Bag Test|brown paper bag tests]] to verify one's skin tone, and degradation of darker-complected Haitians as ugly are contemporary manifestations of colorism.<ref name="haiti2015">{{Cite book|title=Color Stories: Black Women and Colorism in the 21st Century|last=Wilder|first=JeffriAnne|publisher=ABC-CLIO Greenwood|year=2015|isbn=9781440831102|pages=155}}</ref>

In the [[Dominican Republic]], "Blackness" is often associated with the illegal [[Haitians in the Dominican Republic|Haitian migrant minority]], who have a lower class status in the Dominican Republic. People who possess more African-like phenotypic features are often victims of discrimination, and are seen as foreigners.<ref name="quinn">{{cite journal |last1=Quinn |first1=Rachael Afi |title="No tienes que entenderlo": Xiomara Fortuna, Racism, Feminism, and Other Forces in the Dominican Republic |journal=Black Scholar |date=2015 |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=54–66 |doi=10.1080/00064246.2015.1060690|s2cid=143035833 }}</ref>

== Europe ==
{{main|Racism in Europe}}
Native dark skinned [[Demographics of Africa|African]] people living in the [[European Union]] have reported encountering discrimination based on skin color. Overall, reports of skin color discrimination did not vary by gender, with an equal percentage of men and women (38%) reporting skin color discrimination.<ref name="Publications Office p. 33">{{cite book | title=Being black in the EU: experiences of people of African descent | date=2023 | publisher=Publications Office | doi=10.2811/3319 | access-date=2023-10-29 | page=33 |url=https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2023-being-black_in_the_eu_en.pdf | author1=European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. | isbn=9789294892164 }}</ref>

A 2019 report by Universities UK found that students' race and ethnicity significantly affect their degree outcomes. According to this report from 2017–18, there was a 13% gap between the likelihood of white students and [[Black and Minority Ethnic]] (BAME) students graduating with a first or 2:1 degree classification.<ref>{{cite web |title=The degree awarding gap – RGS |url=https://www.rgs.org/research/higher-education-resources/the-degree-awarding-gap |website=www.rgs.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/field/downloads/2021-07/bame-student-attainment.pdf |title=Black, Asian and Ethnic Student Attainment at UK Universities: Close the Gap (May 2019)}}</ref>

A 2023 [[University of Cambridge]] survey that featured the largest sample of black people in Britain found that 88% had reported racial discrimination at work, 79% believed the police unfairly targeted black people with [[stop and search]] powers, and 80% definitely or somewhat agreed that [[discrimination in education|racial discrimination was the biggest barrier to academic attainment for young black students]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Black British Voices: the findings |url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/black-british-voices-report |website=University of Cambridge |language=en |date=28 September 2023}}</ref>

==Latin America==
{{main|Blanqueamiento|Racism in South America}}

=== Brazil ===
{{main|Racism in Brazil}}
[[Brazil]] has the world's largest population of African descent outside Africa. Racially mixed individuals with lighter skin generally have higher rates of [[social mobility]] than mixed-race people with darker skin.<ref name="Hernandez1">{{Cite journal|last=Hernandez |first=Tanya K.|year=2006 |title=Bringing Clarity to Race Relations in Brazil|journal=Diverse: Issues in Higher Education |volume=23|issue=18 |page=85}}</ref> There is a disproportionately higher number of people among the mostly European-descended elites than there is among those elites whose members are of visible African descent. There are large health, education, and income disparities between the races in Brazil.<ref name="Santana1">{{Cite journal|last1=Santana|first1=Vilma|last2=Almeida-Filho |first2=Naomar |last3=Roberts |first3=Robert |last4=Cooper |first4=Sharon P.|year=2007|title=Skin Color, Perception of Racism and Depression among Adolescents in Urban Brazil|journal=Child and Adolescent Mental Health |volume=12|issue=3 |pages=125–131|doi=10.1111/j.1475-3588.2007.00447.x |pmid=32811081|url=http://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/handle/ri/14397 }}</ref> A recent study finds that skin color is a stronger predictor of social inequality in Brazil than 'race' (i.e., the 'race-color' categories used on the Brazilian census). This highlights the fact that socially perceived skin color and 'race' are not the same thing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Monk|first=Ellis P.|date=2016-08-01|title=The Consequences of "Race and Color" in Brazil|journal=Social Problems|volume=63|issue=3|pages=413–430|doi=10.1093/socpro/spw014}}</ref> Although browns/[[Mixed ethnicity|mixed]]s and blacks comprise more than 50 percent of the population, they comprise less than 25 percent of all of the elected politicians.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bueno|first1=Natália S.|last2=Dunning|first2=Thad|date=2017-01-01|title=Race, Resources, and Representation: Evidence from Brazilian Politicians |journal=World Politics|volume=69|issue=2|pages=327–365|doi=10.1017/S0043887116000290|issn=0043-8871}}</ref>

A 2016 study, using twins as a control for neighborhood and family characteristics, found that the nonwhite twin is disadvantaged in the educational system.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Marteleto|first1=Letícia J.|last2=Dondero|first2=Molly|date=2016-07-21|title=Racial Inequality in Education in Brazil: A Twins Fixed-Effects Approach|journal=Demography|pages=1185–1205|doi=10.1007/s13524-016-0484-8|pmid=27443551|pmc=5026925|volume=53|issue=4}}</ref> A 2015 study on racial bias in teacher evaluations in Brazil found that Brazilian math teachers gave better grading assessments of white students than equally proficient and equivalently well-behaved black students.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=AEJ: Applied (7,4) p. 37 – Racial Discrimination in Grading: Evidence from Brazil |doi=10.1257/app.20140352 | volume=7|issue=4|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|pages=37–52|year=2015|last1=Botelho|first1=Fernando|last2=Madeira|first2=Ricardo A.|last3=Rangel|first3=Marcos A.|url=http://www.aeaweb.org/aej/app/app/0704/2014-0352_app.pdf}}</ref>

A 2018 paper found that discriminatory hiring and retention policies accounted for 6–8% of the overall racial wage gap.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=François|first1=Gerard|last2=Lorenzo|first2=Lagos|last3=Edson|first3=Severnini|last4=David|first4=Card|date=2018-10-18|title=Assortative Matching or Exclusionary Hiring? The Impact of Firm Policies on Racial Wage Differences in Brazil |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w25176 |doi=10.3386/w25176 |doi-access=free |s2cid=240144832}}</ref>

=== Chile ===
{{main|Racism in Chile}}

In Chile, there is a wide range of diversity from other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The diversity in Chile sees colorism through social-economic status, accommodating the preexisting notion that darker skin complexions are less valued. A 2016 study found that [[Chile]]an schoolteachers expected less from their dark-skinned students (''morenos'') than they expected from their light-skinned students (''blancos'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ceppe.uc.cl/index.php/ceppe-en-la-prensa/591-estudio-revela-que-alumnos-de-piel-morena-son-considerados-como-menos-competentes-en-los-colegios-chilenos|title=Estudio revela que alumnos de piel morena son considerados como 'menos competentes' en los colegios chilenos|website=Centro de Estudios de Políticas y Prácticas en Educación CEPPE de la U. Católica y Ediciones UC|language=es|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> Even the differences between being dark and being tanned carry different types of status: being tanned means that people have enough money to go to the beach and buy tanning products. Due to the history of colonization, being darker-skinned (and likely descended from enslaved Africans) means that people are automatically considered members of the lower classes. Current studies have revealed that many Chileans want to have lighter pigmentation. Whiteness is also associated with economic standing; a mixed-race person may be considered "white" if they are obviously educated and successful.

=== Mexico ===
{{main|Racism in Mexico}}

A 2017 study revealed a 45% gap in educational achievement between the darkest- and lightest-skinned Mexicans and that wealth in the country similarly correlated to skin color.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/study-reveals-racial-inequality-in-mexico-disproving-its-race-blind-rhetoric-87661|title=Study reveals racial inequality in Mexico, disproving its 'race-blind' rhetoric|website=The Conversation|date=13 December 2017 |access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref>

Colorism in Mexico is an ongoing problem that strongly affects people of darker skin tones there. Color can affect Mexican citizens' daily lives, their ability to get jobs, and their  basic self-esteem. Mexicans have a long history of ancestry from sources other than indigenous peoples: Spanish, African, German, and other Europeans. The number of Mexicans who identify as mixed race increased from 3 million in 2010 to more than 20 million in 2020 as more individuals began to acknowledge mixed race. Skin color for Mexicans can range from white to black; more than half of Mexican citizens identify as [[mestizo]] or mixed race.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga">{{Cite web |last=Zizumbo-Colunga |first=Daniel |date=2017-12-13 |title=Study reveals racial inequality in Mexico, disproving its 'race-blind' rhetoric |url=http://theconversation.com/study-reveals-racial-inequality-in-mexico-disproving-its-race-blind-rhetoric-87661 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref>

A study by [[Vanderbilt University]] found that darker skin is strongly associated with decreased wealth and less education. According to Mexico's National Statistics and Geography Institute, the darker the skin tone, the less upward mobility a Mexican citizen may have. This study revealed that Mexicans with the darkest skin tones were the least likely to have finished elementary school. Simultaneously, those with lighter skin tones were more likely to have a university degree. Some of these differences are also attributed to economic differences between people's families of origin, which create gaps between groups.

These findings also indicate that skin tone appears to be associated with educational achievement. Mexicans with the lightest skin tones complete an average of 11 years of schooling, while dark-skinned Mexicans finish an average of 5.3 years of school. A maximal change in skin tone, from lightest to darkest, is associated with a decrease of almost 6 years of schooling, a 51.8% reduction in education.<ref name=":28">Zizumbo-Colunga, Daniel, and Ivan Flores Martinez. “Is Mexico a Post-Racial Country? Inequality and Skin Tone across The ...” ''Is Mexico a Post-Racial Country? Inequality and Skin Tone across the Americas'', 6 November 2017, www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/ITB031en.pdf.</ref> Lighter-skinned Mexicans were more likely to hold positions of power, while those with darker skin tones were more likely to have positions that required a lower level of qualifications.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-25 |title=In Mexico, economic opportunity increases the closer your skin gets to white |url=https://qz.com/1014257/a-new-study-shows-that-economic-opportunity-in-mexico-increases-the-closer-your-skin-gets-to-white |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref> According to a study by Vanderbilt University, the average Mexican household income was about US$193 a month, while lighter-toned citizens reported an average income of US$220 a month.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" /> Darker-skinned citizens earned almost 42% less than their white counterparts: US$137 a month.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" /> Overall, Mexican populations with lighter skin fall into the highest wealth brackets in Mexico, while those with darker skin fall the lowest.

The average Mexican is located within the 3rd and 4th wealth quintiles, while Mexicans with darker skin tones are averaged below the 2nd wealth quintile. A maximal change in skin tone in Mexico, from lightest to darkest, is associated with a 51.5% decrease in material wealth.<ref name=":28" /> This study also found that while 2.5 percent of white Mexicans surveyed by Vanderbilt's pollsters don't have running water, upward of 11 percent of dark-skinned citizens said they lack this basic necessity. Similarly, 7.5 percent of white Mexicans reported lacking an in-home bathroom, while 20 percent of dark-skinned Mexicans lacked such convenience.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" /> Researchers concluded that not only does the color of one's skin in Mexico negatively predict economic and educational outcomes, but it is also among the strongest factors found in this study.<ref name=":28" />

Mexico had traditionally celebrated its "''raza mestiza''", or mixed-race society. For example, in 2017, President [[Enrique Peña Nieto]] declared "''el mestizaje''" (mixed race) "the future of humanity." Although more than half of Mexico's population identifies as mixed race, race and skin color have a greater effect on Mexicans' human development and [[capital accumulation]] than any other variable. Vanderbilt's results show that the skin color gap in Mexico is two times the achievement gap between northern and southern Mexicans, something that is often referred to in Mexico.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" /> Vanderbilt's study shows that the skin color gap is five times greater than the urban/rural divide in Mexico. It has a significantly greater effect on wealth and education than ethnicity (indigenous versus white or mixed) does.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" />

When Aeromexico recruited new employees in 2013, they specified "''nadie moreno''", or no dark-skinned people. This type of colorism and racism in Mexico is often ignored or explained by cultural divides. Because Mexico consists of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity, many Mexicans argue that darker-skinned citizens tend to live in historically disadvantaged and highly indigenous areas.<ref name="Zizumbo-Colunga" />

==United States==
{{main|Racism against African Americans|Racism in the United States}}

===History===

[[European colonization of the Americas|European colonizers]] created a [[white supremacy|racial hierarchy]] and a race-based [[ideology]], which led to the formation of a structural system of oppression that benefited individuals of European descent over individuals of African descent. Biological differences in skin color were used to justify the [[Slavery in the United States|enslavement]] and [[oppression]] of [[African Americans|Africans]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], leading to the development of a social hierarchy that placed people of European descent at the top and people of African descent at the bottom. Enslaved people with lighter complexions (usually stemming from the [[sexual assault]] of enslaved African women) were allowed to perform less strenuous tasks, like domestic duties, while darker-skinned enslaved people were forced to engage in hard labor, which they usually performed outdoors.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hill | first1 = Mark E | year = 2002 | title = Skin Color and the Perception of Attractiveness Among African Americans: Does Gender Make a Difference? | journal = Social Psychology Quarterly | volume = 65 | issue = 1| pages = 77–91 | doi=10.2307/3090169| jstor = 3090169}}</ref>

African-Americans with greater European ancestry and a lighter skin color were considered smarter than and therefore superior to their darker-skinned counterparts. As a result, they were given greater opportunities for education and the acquisition of land and property.<ref>Russell, K., Wilson, M., & Hall, R. (1993). The color complex: The politics of skin color among African Americans. New York: Anchor Books.</ref> Colorism was a device used by European colonists to create division between enslaved Africans and further the idea that being as close to white as possible was the ideal image. One of the first forms of colorism was slave owners deciding that only light-skinned enslaved people would work in the house while the darker-skinned ones were subjected to the harsh conditions of the fields.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fultz|first=Lauren|date=Summer 2017|title=The Psycho-Social Impact of Colorism Among African American Women: Crossing the Divide|url=http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1909&context=etd_all|journal=Psychology Commons}}</ref> This practice led to a clear division between the slaves, undermining their solidarity against the slave owners.

A variety of specific cutoff tests for skin color emerged; the most famous one was the [[brown paper bag test]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/question/2014/february.htm|title=Brown Paper Bag Test – 2014 – Question of the Month – Jim Crow Museum – Ferris State University|website=ferris.edu|access-date=2017-11-14}}</ref> If people's skins were darker than the color of a brown paper bag, they were considered "too dark". While the origin of this test is unclear, it is best attested to in 20th-century [[African-American culture|black culture]]. During the time when African Americans were forced into slavery, slave owners would use the "paper bag test", which compared their skin color to a paper bag, to distinguish whether their complexion was too dark to work inside the house.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ware|first=Leland|title='Color Struck': Intragroup and Cross-racial Color Discrimination|url=https://racism.org/index.php/articles/law-and-justice/citizenship-rights/116-slavery-to-reparations/racial-reentrenchment/1707-colorism001|access-date=2019-10-28|website=Race, Racism and the Law|archive-date=2020-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924122449/https://racism.org/index.php/articles/law-and-justice/citizenship-rights/116-slavery-to-reparations/racial-reentrenchment/1707-colorism001|url-status=dead}}</ref> African Americans' desire for lighter complexions and European features goes back to slavery. Enslaved people with lighter complexions would have the privilege of working indoors, while enslaved people with darker skin were required to work outside in the fields. The complexions of African American slaves reflected how they were treated and the severity of their punishments if they did not comply with the lifestyle that they were forced into.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hunter|first=Margaret|date=2007|title=The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality|journal=Sociology Compass|volume=1|issue=1|pages=237–254|doi=10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x|issn=1751-9020|s2cid=11960841}}</ref> The access to and resources to purchase [[skincare]] products or services impacted the notions of colorism among African American women, since enslaved and impoverished black women were more limited in their grooming, which affected the way they were treated by their masters. For example, light-skinned black women were marketed as "Negroes fit for domestic service" in their masters' homes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lindsey|first1=Treva B|date=2011|title=Black no more: Skin bleaching and the emergence of new negro womanhood beauty culture|journal=Journal of Pan African Studies |volume=4 |pages=97–116}}</ref>

In addition to the bag test, the comb test and the door test were also used.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://askmeaboutmyhair.com/testing-blackness/|title=Testing Blackness – Ask Me About My Hair (.com)|date=2014-02-10|work=Ask Me About My Hair (.com)|access-date=2017-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194026/http://askmeaboutmyhair.com/testing-blackness/|archive-date=2015-05-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>  The comb test was used to measure the [[Kinky hair|kinkiness]] of a person's hair. The objective was for the comb to be able to pass through the hair without stopping. The door test was popular in some African American clubs and churches. The people who were in charge of those clubs and churches would paint their doors a certain shade of brown, similar to the brown paper bag test, and if people's skins were darker than the color of the doors, they were not admitted into the establishments. These tests were used to measure what level of "blackness" was and was not acceptable in the world. Due to lighter-skinned slaves being allowed to work in the house, they were more likely to be educated than darker slaves were.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Keith|first1=Verna M.|last2=Herring|first2=Cedric|date=1991|title=Skin Tone and Stratification in the Black Community|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=97|issue=3|pages=760–764|jstor=2781783|doi=10.1086/229819|s2cid=145588099}}</ref> Hence the stereotype that dark people are stupid and ignorant. Scholars predict that in the future, the preferred color of beauty will not be black or white but mixed.<ref name="scholarship.law.berkeley.edu">{{cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=Angela|title=From Color Line to Color Chart: Racism and Colorism in the New Century |journal=Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy |date=January 2008|volume=10|issue=1|page=53 |doi=10.15779/Z380C9X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Scholars also predict that the United States will adopt a "multicultural matrix", which will help bridge the racial gap in efforts to achieve racial harmony, termed by some a "[[browning of America]]". The matrix has four components: the mixed race will help fix racial issues; it serves as a sign of racial progress; it suggests that racism is a thing; and it also suggests that the focus on race is racist due to the lack of racial neutrality.<ref name="scholarship.law.berkeley.edu"/> At the same time, some Americans view this "browning" as a sort of [[great replacement|demographic replacement]], which has led to anxiety among some white Americans who feel that their identity and culture are under attack and will be displaced without changes to the US immigration system. [[Eric Kaufmann|Eric Peter Kaufmann]] explored these views among American whites and internationally in the 2018 book ''Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities''.

A parallel as well as an opposite critique of this theory is made by black scholars, who state that racial neutrality will not eliminate discrimination based on skin color as long as some [[Race (human categorization)|races]] continue to be negatively perceived and unfairly treated. As such, racial "browning" would just be another way to erase dark skin without correcting the bad way in which it is perceived. From this point of view, racial harmonization is not a valid response to racism at all. In his 2008 book ''The Browning of America and the Evasion of Social Justice'', Ronald R. Sundstrom writes:<ref name="Sundstrom">{{cite book |last1=Sundstrom|first1=Ronald Robles|year=2008|chapter=Introduction|editor1-last=Bernasconi|editor1-first=Robert|editor1-link=Robert Bernasconi|editor2-last=Sharpley-Whiting|editor2-first=Tracy Denean|editor2-link=Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting|title=The Browning of America and the Evasion of Social Justice|url=https://repository.usfca.edu/read_books/55/|series=Philosophy and Race|publisher=State University of New York Press|page=2|isbn=9780791475850|oclc=187300169}}</ref>{{blockquote|...African American intellectual elites and public figures, as well as other liberals and progressives <nowiki>[perceive]</nowiki> the browning of America to be a threat to long-existing, or even traditional, claims of [[social justice]] by Native Americans and especially African Americans. Moreover, not only are their claims somehow threatened, but the very meaning of the legal principles, such as "[[civil rights]]," upon which their claims are based, is also experiencing transformation. For those who harbor such fears, the browning of America brings with it yet another opportunity for the nation to evade social justice.}}

Several authors have noted that a kind of reverse-colorism began to form within the [[African-American]] community after the end of slavery. Lighter-skinned African-Americans were seen by some darker-skinned people as being inauthentic, privileged, or even "poisoned" by whiteness. According to Greg Carter, this attitude was held by many prominent black nationalists, including [[W.E.B. Du Bois]] and [[Marcus Garvey]].<ref name="Carter">{{cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Greg |title=The United States of the United Races: A Utopian History of Racial Mixing |date=22 April 2013 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-7251-5 |page=133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0O2S-uVHVBsC&dq=%22reverse+colorism%22&pg=PA133 |language=en |quote= "Du Bois, Garvey and their peers had not invented this rhetoric, but they did rearticulate minority antipathy toward racial mixing during the twentieth century into a sort of reverse colorism that held light-skinned kin as privileged, suspect, and poisoned by whiteness."}}</ref> [[Ibram X. Kendi]] wrote that colorism is a "collection of racist policies [...] substantiated by racist ideas about Light and Dark people".<ref name="Klotz">{{cite book |last1=Klotz |first1=Kelsey |title=Dave Brubeck and the Performance of Whiteness |date=7 February 2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-752507-4 |page=194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y_ujEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22reverse+colorism%22&pg=PA194 |language=en |quote="This may have been an implicit form of reverse colorism. While colorism typically would privilege light-skinned Black people (and therefore is, as Ibram X. Kendi writes, “A collection of racist policies that cause inequities between Light people and Dark people, and these inequities are substantiated by racist ideas about Light and Dark people"), this statement suggests that Wright was acting too "light," or had assimilated too much to white ideals and behaviors. Ibram X. Kendi, ''How to Be an Antiracist'' *New York, One World, 2019), 110."}}</ref> Ronald Hall argues that a form of reverse-colorism may have emerged in the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], where mixed-indigenous ethnic groups have sometimes been rejected as inauthentic or even stigmatized as degenerate, and where varying shades of brown skin have been valued over light skin.<ref name="HallMelanin">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Ronald E. |title=The Melanin Millennium: Skin Color as 21st Century International Discourse |date=11 September 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-007-4607-7 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ja08r-2GADwC&dq=colorism+reverse&pg=PA103 |language=en |quote="While the process of Americanization of Guahan has resulted in the valuation of color consistent with colorism, the more recent historical experiences of Chamorus and others on Guahan have resulted in a shift from the desirability of a lighter skin color the varying shades of brown skin...This decolonizing experience has interrupted the process of colorism on Guahan and, in some cases, led to a reverse colorism."}}</ref>

According to the Pew Research Center, 62% of US Latinos say that having a darker skin color affects their ability to get ahead.<ref name=":30">{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2021-11-04 |title=Majority of Latinos Say Skin Color Impacts Opportunity in America and Shapes Daily Life |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2021/11/04/majority-of-latinos-say-skin-color-impacts-opportunity-in-america-and-shapes-daily-life/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project |language=en-US}}</ref> This study also showed that 59% of Latinos say that having a lighter skin color helps Hispanic people get ahead.<ref name=":30" /> 57% say that discrimination based on skin color towards Latinos is a "very big problem" in the US.<ref name=":30" /> Another survey by the Pew Research Center shows that Hispanics with darker skin color are more likely to have experienced at least one instance of discrimination than those with lighter skin color.<ref name=":30" /> This study also showed that 42% of Hispanics with darker skin have experienced discrimination or were treated with prejudice by someone who is not Hispanic, while only 29% of those with lighter skin say the same happened to them.<ref name=":30" /> Additionally, 41% of Hispanics with darker skin say they have experienced discrimination by someone who is Hispanic, while only 25% of those with lighter skin color say they have experienced the same.<ref name=":30" /> According to these findings, those with darker skin and lighter skin alike feel that skin color affects opportunities and life in the US. For example, 62% of darker-skinned Latinos feel that skin color shapes daily life, while 57% of lighter-skinned Latinos feel the same. Colorism can also affect how Hispanic Americans relate to one another. According to the Pew study, nearly half of Hispanic adults say they have often or sometimes heard a Hispanic friend or family member make comments about other Hispanics that might be considered racist or racially insensitive. About half of Latinos feel that discrimination based on race or skin color is a very big problem.<ref name=":30" />

=== Business ===
A 2014 meta-analysis of racial discrimination in product markets found extensive evidence of minority applicants being quoted higher prices for products.<ref name=":7"/> A 1995 study found that car dealers "quoted significantly lower prices to white males than to black or female test buyers using identical, scripted bargaining strategies."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ayres|first1=Ian|last2=Siegelman|first2=Peter|date=1995-01-01|title=Race and Gender Discrimination in Bargaining for a New Car |journal=American Economic Review|volume=85|issue=3|pages=304–21 |jstor=2118176}}</ref> A 2013 study found that eBay sellers of iPods received 21 percent more offers if a white hand held the iPod in the photo than a black hand.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Doleac|first1=Jennifer L.|last2=Stein|first2=Luke C.D.|date=2013-11-01|title=The Visible Hand: Race and Online Market Outcomes |journal=The Economic Journal|volume=123|issue=572|pages=F469–F492|doi=10.1111/ecoj.12082 |s2cid=154984687}}</ref>

A 2014 study in the ''[[Journal of Economic Growth]]'' found that anti-black violence and terrorism, as well as [[Jim Crow laws|segregation laws]], reduced the economic activity and innovation of African Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cook|first=Lisa D.|date=2014|title=Violence and economic activity: evidence from African American patents, 1870–1940|journal=Journal of Economic Growth|volume=19|issue=2|pages=221–257|doi=10.1007/s10887-014-9102-z|s2cid=153971489|issn=1381-4338}}</ref>

Today, the "thick" black female body is celebrated within the black community, but according to [[critical race theory|critical race theorist]] Gentles-Peart, this does not negate the persistence of white colonialist views that presented black women's stereotypically "thicker" bodies as unattractive.<ref name=":44">{{Cite journal |last=Gentles-Peart |first=Kamille |date=2018 |title=Controlling Beauty Ideals: Caribbean Women, Thick Bodies, and White Supremacist Discourse |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wsq.2018.0009 |journal=WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly |volume=46 |issue=1–2 |pages=199–214 |doi=10.1353/wsq.2018.0009 |issn=1934-1520 |s2cid=91021491}}</ref>

African-Americans have historically faced discrimination in terms of getting access to [[credit]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hyman|first=Louis|date=2011|title=Ending Discrimination, Legitimating Debt: The Political Economy of Race, Gender, and Credit Access in the 1960s and 1970s|journal=Enterprise & Society|volume=12|issue=1|pages=200–232|doi=10.1017/S1467222700009770|s2cid=154351557|issn=1467-2227}}</ref> A 2020 audit study of 17 banks found that black business owners who sought loans under the [[Paycheck Protection Program]] got substantially worse treatment than white business owners.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Flitter|first=Emily|date=2020-07-15|title=Black Business Owners Had a Harder Time Getting Federal Aid, a Study Finds|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/business/paycheck-protection-program-bias.html|access-date=2020-07-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Bus drivers engaged in substantial discrimination against black passengers relative to white passengers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mujcic|first1=Redzo|last2=Frijters|first2=Paul|title=The Colour of a Free Ride|journal=The Economic Journal|year=2020|volume=131|issue=634|pages=970–999|doi=10.1093/ej/ueaa090|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Technology ===
In 2018, a study was published by Dr. Joy Buolamwini and Timnit Gebru evaluating the accuracy of several facial recognition technologies in identifying male and female individuals of varying skin tones. They based the skin tone differences in people included in the dataset on the [[Fitzpatrick scale|Fitzpatrick Skin Type classification system]], a standard dermatological system for skin tone classification.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Buolamwini |first1=Joy |last2=Gebru |first2=Timnit |date=2018-01-21 |title=Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification |url=https://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a.html |journal=Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency |language=en |publisher=PMLR |pages=77–91}}</ref> After their evaluation of three commercially available facial recognition softwares, Buolamwini and Gebru found that all three products performed better on lighter faces (Skin Types I-III) than darker faces (Skin Types IV-VI).<ref name=":0" /> In their evaluation, Microsoft's software had the least discrepancy, with an error rate of 12.9% for darker skinned people and 0.7% for fairer individuals. In contrast, IBM's software performed the worst with an identification error rate of 22.4%, which is "nearly 7 times higher than the IBM error rate on lighter faces".<ref name=":0" /> Buolamwini and Gebru also note that the Fitzpatrick Skin Type system is "skewed towards lighter skin and has three categories that can be applied to people perceived as White", implying that the superior performance of facial recognition software on lighter skin tones covers a smaller variety of skin tones than the inferior coverage of the darker skin tones.<ref name=":0" />

===Criminal justice===
Research suggests that police practices such as [[racial profiling]], over-policing in areas that are populated by minorities, and in-group bias may all result in disproportionately high numbers of racial minorities among crime suspects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Warren|first1=Patricia Y.|last2=Tomaskovic-Devey|first2=Donald|date=2009-05-01|title=Racial profiling and searches: Did the politics of racial profiling change police behavior? |journal=Criminology & Public Policy|volume=8|issue=2|pages=343–369|doi=10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00556.x}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Donohue III|first1=John J.|last2=Levitt|first2=Steven D.|date=2001-01-01|title=The Impact of Race on Policing and Arrests|jstor=10.1086/322810|journal=The Journal of Law & Economics|volume=44|issue=2|pages=367–394|doi=10.1086/322810|citeseerx=10.1.1.381.8047|s2cid=1547854}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hinton|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Cook|first2=DeAnza|date=2020-06-29|title=The Mass Criminalization of Black Americans: A Historical Overview|journal=Annual Review of Criminology|volume=4|pages=261–286|doi=10.1146/annurev-criminol-060520-033306| doi-access=free|issn=2572-4568}}</ref> Research also suggests that there is discrimination in the judicial system, which contributes to a higher number of convictions and unfavorable sentencing for racial minorities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Abrams|first1=David S.|last2=Bertrand|first2=Marianne|last3=Mullainathan|first3=Sendhil|date=2012-06-01|title=Do Judges Vary in Their Treatment of Race? |journal=The Journal of Legal Studies|volume=41|issue=2|pages=347–383|doi=10.1086/666006|s2cid=2338687|url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/355}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mustard|first=David B.|date=2001 |title=Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Sentencing: Evidence from the U.S. Federal Courts |journal=The Journal of Law and Economics|volume=44|issue=1|pages=285–314|doi=10.1086/320276|s2cid=154533225}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Anwar|first1=Shamena|last2=Bayer|first2=Patrick|last3=Hjalmarsson|first3=Randi|date=2012-05-01|title=The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=127|issue=2|pages=1017–1055|doi=10.1093/qje/qjs014|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |first1=Briggs |last1=Depew |first2=Ozkan |last2=Eren |first3=Naci |last3=Mocan |year=2017 |title=Judges, Juveniles, and In-Group Bias |journal=[[Journal of Law and Economics]] |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=209–239 |doi=10.1086/693822 |s2cid=147631237 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w22003.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":25" /><ref name=":19">{{Cite journal|last1=Rehavi|first1=M. Marit|last2=Starr|first2=Sonja B.|date=2014|title=Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Sentences|journal=Journal of Political Economy|volume=122|issue=6|pages=1320–1354|doi=10.1086/677255|s2cid=3348344|issn=0022-3808|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2413&context=articles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Crystal S.|last2=Cohen|first2=Alma|date=2019|title=Judicial Politics and Sentencing Decisions|journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy|volume=11|issue=1|pages=160–91|doi=10.1257/pol.20170329|issn=1945-7731|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2023}} Further research indicates that even when controlling for income and all other factors, children from father-absent families (mother only, mother-stepfather, and relatives/other) were much more likely to be incarcerated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hymowitz |first=Kay |date=2012-12-03 |title=The Real, Complex Connection Between Single-Parent Families and Crime |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/12/the-real-complex-connection-between-single-parent-families-and-crime/265860/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> The disproportionate single-parent households of black youths to those in white family structures is 64% to 24% as of 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Children in single-parent families by race {{!}} KIDS COUNT Data Center |url=https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/107-children-in-single-parent-families-by-race |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=datacenter.kidscount.org |language=en}}</ref>

====Policing, arrests, and surveillance====
A 2019 study, which made use of a dataset of the racial makeup of every U.S. sheriff over a 25-year period, found that "the ratio of Black-to-White arrests is significantly higher under White sheriffs" and that the effects appear to be "driven by arrests for less-serious offenses and by targeting Black crime types."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bulman|first=George|s2cid=3616622|title=Law Enforcement Leaders and the Racial Composition of Arrests|journal=Economic Inquiry|issue=4|pages=1842–1858|doi=10.1111/ecin.12800|issn=1465-7295|year=2019|volume=57}}</ref>

In-group bias has also been observed when it comes to traffic citations, as black and white cops are more likely to cite out-groups.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |first=Jeremy |last=West |date=February 2018 |title=Racial Bias in Police Investigations |journal=Working Paper |url=https://people.ucsc.edu/~jwest1/articles/West_RacialBiasPolice.pdf}}</ref>

A 2019 study by the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] found that facial-recognition systems were substantially more likely to misidentify the faces of racial minorities.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/19/federal-study-confirms-racial-bias-many-facial-recognition-systems-casts-doubt-their-expanding-use/|title=Federal study confirms racial bias of many facial-recognition systems, casts doubt on their expanding use|date=2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Some ethnic groups, such as Asian-Americans and African-Americans, were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than white men.<ref name=":18"/>

A 2018 study in the journal ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'' found that tall young black men are especially likely to receive unjustified attention by law enforcement.<ref name=":17">{{Cite journal|last1=Hester|first1=Neil|last2=Gray|first2=Kurt|date=2018-02-21|title=For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=115|issue=11|pages=2711–2715|doi=10.1073/pnas.1714454115|pmid=29483263|pmc=5856523|bibcode=2018PNAS..115.2711H |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> The authors furthermore found a "causal link between perceptions of height and perceptions of threat for Black men, particularly for perceivers who endorse stereotypes that Black people are more threatening than White people."<ref name=":17"/>

Analysis of more than 20 million traffic stops in North Carolina showed that blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to be pulled over by police for traffic stops and that blacks were more likely to be searched following the stop. There was no significant difference in the likelihood that Hispanics would be pulled over, but Hispanics were much more likely to be searched following a traffic stop than whites. When the study controlled for searches in high-crime areas, it still found that police disproportionately targeted black individuals. These racial disparities were particularly pronounced for young men. The study found that whites who were searched were more likely to carry contraband than blacks and Hispanics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/07/17/what-data-on-20-million-traffic-stops-can-tell-us-about-driving-while-black/|title=Analysis {{!}} What data on 20 million traffic stops can tell us about 'driving while black'|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Suspect Citizens|last1=Baumgartner|first1=Frank R.|last2=Epp|first2=Derek A.|last3=Shoub|first3=Kelsey|s2cid=158379135|date=2018-07-10|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108553599|doi=10.1017/9781108553599}}</ref> A 2020 study in the journal ''Nature'' found that black drivers were stopped more often than white drivers and that the threshold by which police decided to search black and Hispanic drivers was lower than that for whites (judging by the rate at which contraband was found in searches).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pierson|first1=Emma|last2=Simoiu|first2=Camelia|last3=Overgoor|first3=Jan|last4=Corbett-Davies|first4=Sam|last5=Jenson|first5=Daniel|last6=Shoemaker|first6=Amy|last7=Ramachandran|first7=Vignesh|last8=Barghouty|first8=Phoebe|last9=Phillips|first9=Cheryl|last10=Shroff|first10=Ravi|last11=Goel|first11=Sharad|date=2020-05-04|title=A large-scale analysis of racial disparities in police stops across the United States|journal=Nature Human Behaviour|volume=4|issue=7|pages=736–745|doi=10.1038/s41562-020-0858-1|pmid=32367028|issn=2397-3374|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2021 study in the ''Quarterly Journal of Economics'' found similar results.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Feigenberg|first1=Benjamin|last2=Miller|first2=Conrad|date=2021|title=Would Eliminating Racial Disparities in Motor Vehicle Searches Have Efficiency Costs?*|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab018|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=137|pages=49–113|doi=10.1093/qje/qjab018|issn=0033-5533}}</ref> A 2021 study in the ''American Economic Review'' found that minorities were significantly less likely to receive discounts on their traffic tickets than white drivers; the study estimated that 42% of [[Florida Highway Patrol]] officers practiced racial discrimination.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Goncalves|first1=Felipe|last2=Mello|first2=Steven|date=2021|title=A Few Bad Apples? Racial Bias in Policing|url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20181607|journal=American Economic Review|volume=111|issue=5|pages=1406–1441|doi=10.1257/aer.20181607|s2cid=235575809|issn=0002-8282}}</ref>

A 2013 report by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] found that blacks were "3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession", even though "blacks and whites use drugs, including marijuana, at similar rates."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/09/09/gary-johnsons-bungled-claims-about-racial-disparities-in-crime/|title=Gary Johnson's bungled claims about racial disparities in crime|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2017-01-21}}</ref>

====Police killings and use of force====
[[File:Black Lives Matter.jpg|thumb|"Black Lives Matter" protests]]
Racism is also present in policing. For instance, the United Kingdom's "stop and search" laws have been disproportionately used against black people, specifically black men. Excessive force against black people is also common in the United States. Police in the United States disproportionately killed unarmed black Americans compared to unarmed white Americans.<ref name=":26"/> These discrepancies led to the creation of the [[Black Lives Matter]] (BLM) movement. The movement began in the US in 2012, after the [[killing of Trayvon Martin]], a 17-year-old unarmed African-American, by [[George Zimmerman]]. Zimmerman claimed self-defense and was acquitted of murder at trial. The movement skyrocketed after many high-profile killings of unarmed African Americans by the police, including the [[murder of George Floyd]].<ref name=":26" /> However, BLM also faces criticism, and the "[[All Lives Matter]]" (ALM) movement emerged as a response. Thus, there is an ongoing debate on the motifs of the ALM. Former US President [[Donald Trump]] and some other Republicans{{which|date=October 2023}} declared the BLM as racist and the ALM as more inclusive and color-blind.<ref name=":26" />

A 2016 study by [[Roland G. Fryer, Jr.]], of the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]] ({{abbr|NBER|National Bureau of Economic Research}}) found that while overall "blacks are 21 percent more likely than whites to be involved in an interaction with police in which at least a weapon is drawn" and that in the raw data from [[Stop-and-frisk in New York City|New York City's Stop and Frisk program]], "[[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|blacks and Hispanics]] are more than fifty percent more likely to have an interaction with police which involves any use of force" after "[p]artitioning the data in myriad ways, we find no evidence of racial discrimination in officer-involved shootings."{{refn|name=fryer1|{{cite journal |surname=Fryer|given=Roland Gerhard|author-link=Roland G. Fryer Jr.|title=An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force|series=NBER Working Papers|id=W22399|date=July 2016|edition=Revised January 2018|website=[[National Bureau of Economic Research]]|url=https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w22399/w22399.pdf|doi=10.3386/w22399|doi-access=free|oclc=956328193|s2cid=158634577 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031080410/https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w22399/w22399.pdf|archive-date=2020-10-31|url-status=live}}<ref name="fryer1_pub">{{cite journal|surname=Fryer|given=Roland Gerhard|author-link=Roland G. Fryer Jr.|title=An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force|journal=[[Journal of Political Economy]]|date=June 2019|volume=127|number=3|pages=1210–1261|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|doi=10.1086/701423|s2cid=158634577|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/701423|oclc=8118094562|issn=0022-3808}}</ref>}} The study did find bias against blacks and Hispanics in non-lethal and less-extreme lethal violence, stating that "as the intensity of force increases (e.g. handcuffing civilians without arrest, drawing or pointing a weapon, or using pepper spray or a baton), the probability that any civilian is subjected to such treatment is small, but the racial difference remains surprisingly constant", and noting that "[u]ntil recently, data on officer-involved shootings were extremely rare and contained little information on the details surrounding an incident".<ref name="fryer1"/>

After the NBER study was published in the [[peer review]]ed ''[[Journal of Political Economy]]'', a comment on it by [[Steven Durlauf]] and [[Nobel Prize in Economics]] recipient [[James Heckman]] of the [[Harris School of Public Policy Studies]] at the [[University of Chicago]] said, "[i]n our judgment, this paper does ''not'' establish credible evidence on the presence or absence of discrimination against African Americans in police shootings."<ref name="fryer1_com">{{cite journal|surname=Durlauf|given=Steven Neil|author-link=Steven Durlauf|surname2=Heckman|given2=James Joseph|author-link2=James Heckman|title=An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force: A Comment|journal=[[Journal of Political Economy]]|date=2020-07-21|volume=128|number=10|pages=3998–4002|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|doi=10.1086/710976|doi-access=free|oclc=8672021465|issn=0022-3808}}</ref> The NBER study's author, [[Roland G. Fryer Jr.]], responded by saying Durlauf and Heckman erroneously claim that his sample is "based on stops." Further, he states that the "vast majority of the data [...] are gleaned from 911 calls for service in which a civilian requests police presence."<ref name="fryer1_re">{{cite journal|surname=Fryer|given=Roland Gerhard|author-link=Roland G. Fryer Jr.|title=An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force: A Response|journal=[[Journal of Political Economy]]|date=2020-07-21|volume=128|number=10|pages=4003–4008|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|doi=10.1086/710977|s2cid=222813143|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/710977|oclc=8672034484|issn=0022-3808|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201108065748/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/710977|archive-date=2020-11-08}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''[[American Journal of Public Health]]'' found the mortality rate by police per 100,000 was 1.9 to 2.4 for black men, 0.8 to 1.2 for Hispanic men, and 0.6 to 0.7 for white men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Edwards|first1=Frank|last2=Esposito|first2=Michael H.|last3=Lee|first3=Hedwig|date=2018-07-19|title=Risk of Police-Involved Death by Race/Ethnicity and Place, United States, 2012–2018|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=108|issue=9|pages=e1–e8|doi=10.2105/ajph.2018.304559|pmid=30024797|pmc=6085013|issn=0090-0036}}</ref> Reports by the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] have also found that police in Baltimore, Maryland, and Ferguson, Missouri, systemically stop, search (in some cases, strip-search), and harass black residents.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/us/baltimore-police-bias-report.html|title=Findings of Police Bias in Baltimore Validate What Many Have Long Felt|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|date=2016-08-10|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/03/04/the-12-key-highlights-from-the-dojs-scathing-ferguson-report/|title=The 12 key highlights from the DOJ's scathing Ferguson report|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref> A January 2017 report by the DOJ concluded that the Chicago Police Department had "unconstitutionally engaged in a pattern of excessive and deadly force", and an independent task force created by the mayor of Chicago stated that police "have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/13/us/chicago-police-federal-investigation/index.html|title=Chicago police use excessive force, DOJ finds|first1=Jason|last1=Hanna|first2=Madison|last2=Park|website=CNN|date=13 January 2017|access-date=2017-01-13}}</ref> A 2018 study found that minorities were disproportionately killed by police, but that white officers were no more likely to use lethal force on minorities than minority officers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Menifield|first1=Charles E.|last2=Shin|first2=Geiguen|last3=Strother|first3=Logan|title=Do White Law Enforcement Officers Target Minority Suspects?|journal=Public Administration Review|volume=79|pages=56–68|doi=10.1111/puar.12956|issn=0033-3352|year=2019|s2cid=229296886}}</ref> A 2019 study in the ''[[The Journal of Politics|Journal of Politics]]'' found that police officers were more likely to use lethal force on blacks, but that this was "most likely driven by higher rates of police contact among African Americans rather than racial differences in the circumstances of the interaction and officer bias in the application of lethal force."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Streeter|first=Shea|date=2019-06-07|title=Lethal Force in Black and White: Assessing Racial Disparities in the Circumstances of Police Killings|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=81|issue=3|pages=1124–1132|doi=10.1086/703541|s2cid=197815467|issn=0022-3816}}</ref>

A 2019 study in the journal ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'' found that blacks and American Indian/Alaska Natives are more likely to be killed by police than whites, and that Latino men are more likely to be killed than white men.<ref name=":24">{{Cite journal|last1=Esposito|first1=Michael|last2=Lee|first2=Hedwig|last3=Edwards|first3=Frank|date=2019-07-31|title=Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race–ethnicity, and sex|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=34|pages=16793–16798|doi=10.1073/pnas.1821204116|pmid=31383756|pmc=6708348|bibcode=2019PNAS..11616793E |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to the study, "for young men of color, police use of force is among the leading causes of death."<ref name=":24" /> A separate ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'' (''PNAS'') study found that there were no racial disparities in police shootings by white police;<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cesario|first1=Joseph|last2=Taylor|first2=Carley|last3=Burkel|first3=Nicole|last4=Tress|first4=Trevor|last5=Johnson|first5=David J.|date=2019-07-17|title=Officer characteristics and racial disparities in fatal officer-involved shootings|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=32|pages=15877–15882|doi=10.1073/pnas.1903856116|issn=0027-8424|pmid=31332014|pmc=6689929|bibcode=2019PNAS..11615877J |doi-access=free}}{{Retracted|doi=10.1073/pnas.2014148117|pmid=32651282|http://retractionwatch.com/2020/07/08/retraction-of-paper-on-police-killings-and-race-not-due-to-mob-pressure-or-distaste-for-the-political-views-of-people-citing-the-work-approvingly-say-authors/ ''Retraction Watch''|intentional=yes}}</ref> the findings of the study were disputed by Princeton University scholars, who argued that the study's method and dataset made it impossible for the authors to reach that conclusion.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |title=Making inferences about racial disparities in police violence|date=2 August 2019|ssrn = 3431132|last1 = Knox|first1 = Dean|last2 = Mummolo|first2 = Jonathan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knox|first1=Dean|last2=Mummolo|first2=Jonathan|date=2020-01-21|title=Making inferences about racial disparities in police violence|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=117|issue=3|pages=1261–1262|doi=10.1073/pnas.1919418117|pmid=31964781|pmc=6983428|bibcode=2020PNAS..117.1261K |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> The authors of the original ''PNAS'' study corrected their article following the criticism by the Princeton scholars.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sciences|first=National Academy of|date=2020|title=Correction for Johnson et al., Officer characteristics and racial disparities in fatal officer-involved shootings|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=117|issue=16|page=9127|doi=10.1073/pnas.2004734117|issn=0027-8424|pmid=32284413|pmc=7183161|bibcode=2020PNAS..117.9127. |doi-access=free}}</ref> A study by Texas A&M University economists, which rectified some problems of selection bias identified in the literature above, found that white police officers were more likely to use force and guns than black police, and that white officers were five times as likely to use gun force in predominantly black neighborhoods.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoekstra|first1=Mark|last2=Sloan|first2=CarlyWill|date=2020|title=Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w26774|doi=10.3386/w26774|s2cid=213236709}}</ref> A 2020 ''American Political Science Review'' study estimated that 39% of uses of force by police against blacks and Hispanics in New York City were racially discriminatory.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knox|first1=Dean|last2=Lowe|first2=Will|last3=Mummolo|first3=Jonathan|date=2020|title=Administrative Records Mask Racially Biased Policing|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=114|issue=3|pages=619–637|doi=10.1017/S0003055420000039|issn=0003-0554|doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Charging decisions====
A 2018 study in the ''[[Journal of Empirical Legal Studies]]'' found that law enforcement officers in Texas who could charge shoplifters with two types of crimes (one more serious, one less so) due to a vaguely worded statute were more likely to charge blacks and Hispanics with the more serious crime.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Braun|first1=Michael|last2=Rosenthal|first2=Jeremy|last3=Therrian|first3=Kyle|date=2018|title=Police Discretion and Racial Disparity in Organized Retail Theft Arrests: Evidence from Texas|journal=Journal of Empirical Legal Studies|volume=15|issue=4|pages=916–950|doi=10.1111/jels.12201|s2cid=158361514|issn=1740-1461}}</ref>

A 2017 report by the [[The Marshall Project|Marshall Project]] found that killings of black men by whites were far more likely to be deemed "justifiable" than killings by any other combination of races.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/14/killings-of-black-men-by-whites-are-far-more-likely-to-be-ruled-justifiable|title=Killings of Black Men by Whites are Far More Likely to be Ruled "Justifiable"|date=2017-08-14|website=The Marshall Project|access-date=2017-08-21}}</ref>

====Legal representation, bail decisions, trials, and convictions====
A 2019 [[audit study]] found that lawyers are less likely to take on clients with black-sounding names than white-sounding names.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Libgober|first=Brian|date=2019-05-16|title=Getting a Lawyer While Black: A Field Experiment |ssrn=3389279}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''[[Quarterly Journal of Economics]]'' found that [[bail]] judges in Miami and Philadelphia were racially biased against black defendants, as white defendants had higher rates of pretrial misconduct than black defendants.<ref name=":25">{{Cite journal|last1=Arnold|first1=David|last2=Dobbie|first2=Will|last3=Yang|first3=Crystal S.|s2cid=13703268|title=Racial Bias in Bail Decisions|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=133|issue=4|pages=1885–1932|doi=10.1093/qje/qjy012|year=2018|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w23421.pdf}}</ref> A 2022 study in the ''American Economic Review'' found that New York City judges engaged in racial discrimination against black defendants in bail decisions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=David |last2=Dobbie |first2=Will |last3=Hull |first3=Peter |date=2022 |title=Measuring Racial Discrimination in Bail Decisions |journal=American Economic Review |language=en |volume=112 |issue=9 |pages=2992–3038 |doi=10.1257/aer.20201653 |pmid=37360006 |pmc=10289801 |issn=0002-8282}}</ref>

A 2012 study found that "(i) juries formed from all-white jury pools convict black defendants significantly (16 percentage points) more often than white defendants, and (ii) this gap in conviction rates is entirely eliminated when the jury pool includes at least one black member."<ref name=":3"/>

A 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research experiment found that law students, economics students, and practicing lawyers who watched 3D virtual reality videos of court trials (where the researchers altered the race of the defendants) showed a racial bias against minorities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bielen|first1=Samantha|last2=Marneffe|first2=Wim|last3=Mocan|first3=Naci H|date=2018|title=Racial Bias and In-group Bias in Judicial Decisions: Evidence from Virtual Reality Courtrooms |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |doi=10.3386/w25355 |doi-access=free |s2cid=53629979|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w25355}}</ref>

DNA exonerations in rape cases strongly suggest that the [[wrongful conviction]] rate is higher for black convicts than white convicts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bjerk|first1=David|last2=Helland|first2=Eric|date=2020-05-01|title=What Can DNA Exonerations Tell Us about Racial Differences in Wrongful-Conviction Rates?|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/707080|journal=The Journal of Law and Economics|volume=63|issue=2|pages=341–366|doi=10.1086/707080|hdl=10419/185297|s2cid=51997973|issn=0022-2186|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

====Sentencing====
Research has found evidence of in-group bias, where "black (white) juveniles who are randomly assigned to black (white) judges are more likely to get incarcerated (as opposed to being placed on probation), and they receive longer sentences."<ref name=":6"/>

A 2018 study in the ''American Economic Journal: Applied Economics'' found that judges gave longer sentences, in particular to black defendants, after their favorite team lost a home game.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eren|first1=Ozkan|last2=Mocan|first2=Naci|date=2018|title=Emotional Judges and Unlucky Juveniles|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=10|issue=3|pages=171–205|doi=10.1257/app.20160390|issn=1945-7782|doi-access=free}}</ref>

A 2014 study in the ''[[Journal of Political Economy]]'' found that 9% of the black-white gap in sentencing could not be accounted for.<ref name=":19"/> The elimination of unexplained sentencing disparities would reduce "the steady-state level of black men in federal prison by 8,000–11,000 men [out of the black male prison population of 95,000] and save $230–$320 million per year in direct costs."<ref name=":19"/> The majority of the unexplained sentencing disparity appears to occur at the point when prosecutors decide to bring charges carrying "mandatory minimum" sentences.<ref name=":19"/> A 2018 paper by Alma Cohen and Crystal Yang of [[Harvard Law School]] found that "Republican-appointed judges give substantially longer prison sentences to black offenders versus observably similar non-black offenders compared to Democratic-appointed judges within the same district court."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cohen|first1=Alma|last2=Yang|first2=Crystal|date=2018|title=Judicial Politics and Sentencing Decisions |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w24615|doi=10.3386/w24615 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In criminal sentencing, medium- to dark-skinned African Americans are likely to receive sentences 2.6 years longer than those of whites or light-skinned African Americans. When a white victim is involved, those with more "black" features are likely to receive a much more severe punishment.<ref name="Hochschild, Jennifer L 2007">{{cite journal | last1 = Hochschild | first1 = Jennifer L | year = 2007 | title = The Skin Color Paradox and the American Racial Order | journal = Social Forces | volume = 86 | issue = 2| pages = 643–670 | doi=10.1093/sf/86.2.643| s2cid = 145637304}}</ref>

A 2016 report by the ''[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]'' found that Florida judges sentence black defendants to far longer prison sentences than whites with the same background.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=http://projects.heraldtribune.com/bias/sentencing/|title=Same background. Same crime. Different race. Different sentence.|access-date=2016-12-19}}</ref> For the same drug possession crimes, blacks were sentenced to double the time of whites.<ref name=":15"/> Blacks were given longer sentences in 60 percent of felony cases, 68 percent of the most serious first-degree crimes, 45 percent of burglary cases, and 30 percent of battery cases.<ref name=":15"/> For third-degree felonies (the least serious types of felonies in Florida), white judges sentenced blacks to twenty percent more time than whites, whereas black judges gave more balanced sentences.<ref name=":15"/>

A 2017 report by the [[United States Sentencing Commission]] (USSC) found, "after controlling for a wide variety of sentencing factors" (such as age, education, citizenship, weapon possession, and prior criminal history), that "Black male offenders received sentences on average 19.1 percent longer than similarly situated White male offenders".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116220952/https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-11-16|title=Black men sentenced to more time for committing the exact same crime as a white person, study finds|website=washingtonpost.com|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/demographic-differences-sentencing|title=Demographic Differences in Sentencing|date=2017-11-13|work=United States Sentencing Commission|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref>

A 2014 study on the application of the death penalty in Connecticut over the period 1973–2007 found "that minority defendants who kill white victims are capitally charged at substantially higher rates than minority defendants who kill minorities... There is also strong and statistically significant evidence that minority defendants who kill whites are more likely to end up with capital sentences than comparable cases with white defendants."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Donohue|first=John J.|s2cid=39548863|date=2014-10-28|title=An Empirical Evaluation of the Connecticut Death Penalty System Since 1973: Are There Unlawful Racial, Gender, and Geographic Disparities?|journal=Journal of Empirical Legal Studies|volume=11|issue=4|pages=637–696|doi=10.1111/jels.12052|issn=1740-1453}}</ref>

====Prison system, parole, and pardons====
A 2016 analysis by the ''New York Times'' found that "tens of thousands of disciplinary cases against inmates in 2015, hundreds of pages of internal reports and three years of parole decisions found that racial disparities were embedded in the prison experience in New York."<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/nyregion/new-york-state-prisons-inmates-racial-bias.html|title=The Scourge of Racial Bias in New York State's Prisons|last1=Winerip|first1=Michael Schwirtz, Michael|date=2016-12-03|last2=Gebeloff|first2=Robert|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2016-12-03}}</ref> Blacks and Latinos were sent more frequently to solitary and held there for longer durations than whites.<ref name=":14"/> The ''New York Times'' analysis found that the disparities were greatest for violations where the prison guards had much discretion, such as disobeying orders, but smaller for violations that required physical evidence, such as possessing contraband.<ref name=":14"/>

According to a 2011 ''[[ProPublica]]'' analysis, "whites are nearly four times as likely as minorities to win a pardon, even when the type of crime and severity of sentence are taken into account."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/shades-of-mercy-presidential-forgiveness-heavily-favors-whites|title=Presidential Pardons Heavily Favor Whites|date=2011-12-03|website=ProPublica|first1=Dafna|last1=Linzer|first2=Jennifer|last2=LaFleur|access-date=2017-12-21}}</ref>

=== Education ===
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' (1954) that [[Desegregation|integrated]], equal schools should be accessible to all children unbiased to skin color. Currently, in the United States, not all state-funded schools are equally funded. Schools are funded by "federal, state, and local governments", while "states play a large and increasing role in education funding."<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=http://www.edcentral.org/edcyclopedia/school-finance/|title=School Finance – EdCentral|newspaper=EdCentral|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> "[[Property tax]]es support most of the funding that the local government provides for education."<ref name=":11"/> Schools in lower-income areas get less funding than schools in higher-income areas because all funding for education is based on property taxes. The [[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] reports that "many high-poverty schools receive less than their fair share of state and local funding, leaving students in high-poverty schools with fewer resources than schools which are attended by their wealthier peers."<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/more-40-low-income-schools-dont-get-fair-share-state-and-local-funds-department-|title=More Than 40% of Low-Income Schools Don't Get a Fair Share of State and Local Funds, Department of Education Research Finds {{!}} U.S. Department of Education|website=ed.gov|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> The U.S. Department of Education also says this fact affects "more than 40% of low-income schools".<ref name=":13" /> Children of color are much more likely to suffer from poverty than white children. Furthermore, an article from 2015 informs that since black students finance their education through debt, the chances of them receiving a college degree worsen.<ref name="College Opp">{{Cite report |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED571120 |title=The State of Higher Education in California: Blacks |last=Valliani |first=Nadia |date=May 2015 |publisher=Campaign for College Opportunity |language=en}}</ref> And because education does not lead to economic equality for black employees, the excessive deficit that black students are taking on to pay for their education is widening the wealth disparity between races.<ref name="College Opp" /> The statistics from the article show the average white college graduate has more than seven times as much wealth as the average black graduate.<ref name="College Opp" /> Therefore, students of color are more likely to have lower educational outcomes because of the wealth differences.

A 2015 study that used correspondence tests "found that when they are considering requests from prospective students who are seeking mentoring in the future, faculty were significantly more responsive to White males than they were to all other categories of students, collectively, particularly in higher-paying disciplines and private institutions."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Milkman|first1=Katherine L.|author-link=Katy Milkman|last2=Akinola|first2=Modupe|author-link2=Modupe Akinola|last3=Chugh|first3=Dolly|date=2015-11-01|title=What happens before? A field experiment exploring how pay and representation differentially shape bias on the pathway into organizations|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/fnce_papers/61|journal=The Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=100|issue=6|pages=1678–1712|doi=10.1037/apl0000022|pmid=25867167}}</ref> Through [[affirmative action]], elite colleges consider a broader range of experiences for minority applicants.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9072.html|title=Espenshade, T.J. and Radford, A.W.: No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life. (eBook, Paperback and Hardcover)|date=November 2009|isbn=9780691141602|access-date=2016-04-24|last1=Espenshade|first1=Thomas J.|last2=Radford|first2=Alexandria Walton|publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref>

A 2016 study in the journal ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]]'' found that blacks and Hispanics were systemically underrepresented in education programs for [[Intellectual giftedness|gifted children]] where teachers and parents referred students to those programs; when a universal screening program based on IQ was used to refer students, the disparity was significantly reduced.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Card|first1=David|last2=Giuliano|first2=Laura|date=2016-11-29|title=Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=113|issue=48|pages=13678–13683|doi=10.1073/pnas.1605043113|issn=0027-8424|pmc=5137751|pmid=27856741|bibcode=2016PNAS..11313678C |doi-access=free}}</ref>  An article from 2000 mentions the inequalities students of color have when accessing advanced classes or programs for gifted students. The authors analyzed how schools that serve minorities offer less advanced courses than schools that serve large white populations of students.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gordon |first1=Rebecca |last2=Piana |first2=Libero Della |last3=Keleher |first3=Terry |date=2000 |title=Facing the consequences: An examination of racial discrimination in US public schools. |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED454323 |website=ERIC}}</ref> Thus, these statistics show how this issue is ongoing and has not been minimized.

The phrase "brown paper bag test", or [[paper bag party]], along with the "ruler test", refers to a ritual that was once done by certain African-American sororities and fraternities that would not let anyone into the group if his or her skin was darker than a brown paper bag.<ref name="Kerr">Kerr, A. E. (2006). The paper bag principle: Class, colorism, and rumor in the case of black Washington, DC. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.</ref> [[Spike Lee]]'s film ''[[School Daze]]'' satirized this practice at historically black colleges and universities.<ref>Spike Lee, "School Daze," 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Columbia Pictures Corporation</ref> Along with the "paper bag test", guidelines for acceptance among the lighter ranks included the "comb test" and the "pencil test", which tested the coarseness of one's hair, and the "flashlight test", which tested a person's profile in order to make sure that their features measured up or were close enough to those of the Caucasian race.<ref name="Kerr"/>

A 2013 study used [[spectrophotometer]] readings to quantify the skin color of respondents. White women experience discrimination in education, with those women with darker skin graduating from college at lower rates than those with lighter skin. This precise and repeatable test of skin color revealed that white women experience skin color discrimination in education at levels that are consistent with the levels of skin color discrimination experienced by African-Americans. White men are not affected in this way.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Branigan|first1=Amelia|last2=Freese|first2=Jeremy|last3=Patir|first3=Assaf|last4=McDade|first4=Thomas|last5=Liu|first5=Kiang|last6=Kiefe|first6=Catarina|title=Skin color, sex, and educational attainment in the post-civil rights era|journal=Social Science Research|date=November 2013|volume=42|issue=6|pages=1659–1674|pmid=24090859|doi=10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.07.010}}</ref>

=== Health ===
A 2019 review of the literature in the ''[[Annual Review of Public health|Annual Review of Public Health]]'' found that [[Societal racism|structural racism]], [[cultural racism]], and individual-level discrimination are "a fundamental cause of adverse health outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities and racial/ethnic inequities in health."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=David R. |last2=Lawrence |first2=Jourdyn A. |last3=Davis |first3=Brigette A. |date=2019 |title=Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research |journal=Annual Review of Public Health |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=105–125 |doi=10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750 |pmc=6532402 |pmid=30601726 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2020 study found that black healthcare workers experience racial discrimination, which increases [[racial harassment]] and firing rates while decreasing promotional opportunities.<ref name=":29">{{Cite journal |last1=Wingfield |first1=Adia Harvey |last2=Chavez |first2=Koji |date=February 2020 |title=Getting In, Getting Hired, Getting Sideways Looks: Organizational Hierarchy and Perceptions of Racial Discrimination |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122419894335 |journal=American Sociological Review |language=en |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=31–57 |doi=10.1177/0003122419894335 |s2cid=214050882 |issn=0003-1224}}</ref>

A 2020 interview study found that black technicians were treated differently compared to white technicians. When performing a simple procedure, patients were more likely to object to a black technician's work and question their credentials than to a white technician's.<ref name=":29" />

A 1999 study found that doctors treat black and white patients differently, even when their medical files were statistically identical.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Schulman|first1=Kevin A.|last2=Berlin|first2=Jesse A.|last3=Harless|first3=William|last4=Kerner|first4=Jon F.|last5=Sistrunk|first5=Shyrl|last6=Gersh|first6=Bernard J.|last7=Dubé|first7=Ross|last8=Taleghani|first8=Christopher K.|last9=Burke|first9=Jennifer E.|date=1999-02-25|title=The Effect of Race and Sex on Physicians' Recommendations for Cardiac Catheterization |journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=340|issue=8|pages=618–626|doi=10.1056/NEJM199902253400806|pmid=10029647}}</ref> When shown patient histories and asked to make judgments about heart disease, the doctors were much less likely to recommend cardiac catheterization (a helpful procedure) to black patients.<ref name=":4"/> A 2015 study found that pediatricians were more likely to undertreat [[appendicitis]] pain in black children than white children.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Goyal|first1=Monika K.|author2-link=Nathan Kuppermann |last2=Kuppermann|first2=Nathan|last3=Cleary|first3=Sean D.|last4=Teach|first4=Stephen J.|last5=Chamberlain|first5=James M.|date=2015-11-01|title=Racial Disparities in Pain Management of Children With Appendicitis in Emergency Departments|journal=JAMA Pediatrics|volume=169|issue=11|pages=996–1002|doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1915|pmid=26366984|pmc=4829078|issn=2168-6203}}</ref> A 2017 study found that medical staff treating anterior cruciate ligament injuries perceived black collegiate athletes as having higher pain tolerance than white athletes.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Racial bias in sport medical staff's perceptions of others' pain|journal=The Journal of Social Psychology|volume=158|issue=6|pages=721–729|doi=10.1080/00224545.2017.1409188|pmid=29173126|year=2017|author1-link=James N. Druckman|last1=Druckman|first1=James N|last2=Trawalter|first2=Sophie|last3=Montes|first3=Ivonne|last4=Fredendall|first4=Alexandria|last5=Kanter|first5=Noah|last6=Rubenstein|first6=Allison Paige|s2cid=12371799}}</ref> A study by University of Toronto and Ohio State University economists found substantial evidence of racial discrimination against black veterans in terms of medical treatment and awarding of disability pensions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the discrimination was substantial enough to account for nearly the entire black-white mortality gap in the period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eli|first1=Shari|last2=Logan|first2=Trevon D|last3=Miloucheva|first3=Boriana|date=2019|title=Physician Bias and Racial Disparities in Health: Evidence from Veterans' Pensions |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w25846|doi=10.3386/w25846|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2019 study in ''Science'' found that one widely used algorithm to assess health risks falsely concluded that "Black patients are healthier than equally sick White patients", thus leading health care providers to provide lower levels of care for black patients.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Obermeyer|first1=Ziad|last2=Powers|first2=Brian|last3=Vogeli|first3=Christine|last4=Mullainathan|first4=Sendhil|date=2019-10-25|title=Dissecting racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations|journal=Science|volume=366|issue=6464|pages=447–453|doi=10.1126/science.aax2342|issn=0036-8075|pmid=31649194|bibcode=2019Sci...366..447O|s2cid=204881868|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6h92v832}}</ref> A 2020 study found that "when Black newborns are cared for by Black physicians, the mortality penalty they suffer, as compared with White infants, is halved."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Greenwood|first1=Brad N.|last2=Hardeman|first2=Rachel R.|last3=Huang|first3=Laura|last4=Sojourner|first4=Aaron|date=2020-08-13|title=Physician–patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=117|issue=35|pages=21194–21200|doi=10.1073/pnas.1913405117|pmid=32817561|pmc=7474610|bibcode=2020PNAS..11721194G |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Rob Picheta|title=Black newborns 3 times more likely to die when looked after by White doctors|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/health/black-babies-mortality-rate-doctors-study-wellness-scli-intl/index.html|access-date=2020-08-20|website=CNN|date=18 August 2020 }}</ref>  The 2020 study was debunked in 2024.<ref>Physician–patient racial concordance and newborn mortality. George J. Borjas & Robert VerBruggen, September 16, 2024, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2409264121</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=20 May 2025 |date=27 October 2024 |language=en |quote=Although the authors of the original 2020 study had controlled for various factors, they had not included very low birth weight (ie, babies born weighing less than 1,500 grams, who account for about half of infant mortality). Once this was also taken into consideration, there was no measurable difference in outcomes |title=The data hinted at racism among white doctors. Then scholars looked again |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/10/27/the-data-hinted-at-racism-among-white-doctors-then-scholars-looked-again |newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

A 2020 study published in ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'' examined racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement.<ref name=":110">{{Cite journal |last1=Sjoding |first1=Michael W. |last2=Dickson |first2=Robert P. |last3=Iwashyna |first3=Theodore J. |last4=Gay |first4=Steven E. |last5=Valley |first5=Thomas S. |date=2020-12-17 |title=Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |language=en |volume=383 |issue=25 |pages=2477–2478 |doi=10.1056/NEJMc2029240 |issn=0028-4793 |pmc=7808260 |pmid=33326721}}</ref> [[Pulse oximetry|Pulse oximeters]] are a medical device that is commonly attached to a patient's finger and uses a sensor to measure light that has traveled through the skin to determine oxygen saturation in blood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pulse Oximetry |url=https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/pulse-oximetry#:~:text=Pulse%20oximetry%20is%20a%20term,the%20need%20for%20medical%20intervention. |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Yale Medicine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pulse Oximetry |url=https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-procedures-and-tests/pulse-oximetry |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=www.lung.org |language=en}}</ref> Oxygen saturation is an important vital that quantifies of the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nunn |first1=John F. |title=Nunn's applied respiratory physiology |last2=Lumb |first2=Andrew B. |last3=Pearl |first3=Ronald G. |last4=Lumb |first4=Andrew |date=2017 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-7020-6294-0 |edition=8th |location=Edinburgh London New York |pages=335–340}}</ref> The purpose of the study was to identify cases of occult [[hypoxemia]], which the study defined as cases where a subject had "an arterial oxygen saturation of <88% despite an oxygen saturation of 92 to 96% on pulse oximetry".<ref name=":110" /> It is important to note that there are different forms of medical intervention recommended at oxygen saturation levels at <88% and 92%, and below 90% organs such as the brain, heart, and lungs become at risk for organ damage.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moran-Thomas |first=Amy |date=2020-08-05 |title=How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias |url=https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/amy-moran-thomas-pulse-oximeter/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |work=Boston Review |language=en-US}}</ref> The study found that "Black patients had nearly three times the frequency of occult hypoxemia that was not detected by pulse oximetry as White patients".<ref name=":110" /> Pulse Ox devices are used frequently for medical decision making, potentially resulting in disparate outcomes for darker and lighter skin patients when choices are made based on pulse oximeters for supplemental oxygen (especially when hospitals are overwhelmed, like during the COVID-19 pandemic).<ref name=":110" />

A 2018 ProPublica analysis found that African Americans and Native Americans were underrepresented in clinical trials of new drugs. Fewer than 5% of patients were African-American, even though they make up 13.4% of the total US population. African-Americans were even underrepresented in trials involving drugs intended for diseases that disproportionately affect African-Americans. As a result, African-Americans who have exhausted all other treatments have weaker access to experimental treatments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/black-patients-miss-out-on-promising-cancer-drugs|title=Black Patients Miss Out On Promising Cancer Drugs|date=2018-09-19|website=ProPublica|first1=Caroline|last1=Chen|first2=Riley|last2=Wong|access-date=2018-09-21}}</ref>

Studies have argued that there are racial disparities in how the media and politicians act when they are faced with cases of drug addiction in which the victims are primarily black rather than white, citing the examples of how society responded differently to the crack epidemic than it responded to the opioid epidemic.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shachar|first1=Carmel|last2=Wise|first2=Tess|last3=Katznelson|first3=Gali|last4=Campbell|first4=Andrea Louise|title=Criminal Justice or Public Health: A Comparison of the Representation of the Crack Cocaine and Opioid Epidemics in the Media|journal=Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law|doi=10.1215/03616878-8004862|pmid=31808806|year=2019|volume=45|issue=2|pages=211–239|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kim|first1=Jin Woo|last2=Morgan|first2=Evan|last3=Nyhan|first3=Brendan|title=Treatment versus Punishment: Understanding Racial Inequalities in Drug Policy|journal=Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law|doi=10.1215/03616878-8004850|pmid=31808796|year=2019|volume=45|issue=2|pages=177–209|s2cid=208742790}}</ref>

The biases that underrepresentation of dark skin tone images creates ultimately exacerbate disparities in dermatologic outcomes between patient populations with light and dark skin tones.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=8202324 | year=2021 | last1=Kaundinya | first1=T. | last2=Kundu | first2=R. V. | title=Diversity of Skin Images in Medical Texts: Recommendations for Student Advocacy in Medical Education | journal=Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development | volume=8 | doi=10.1177/23821205211025855 | pmid=34179498 }}</ref> Furthermore, racial discrimination between healthcare workers is also important due to its linkage to mental health and job satisfaction.<ref name=":29"/>

=== Housing and land ===
{{main|Housing discrimination in the United States}}
A 2014 meta-analysis found extensive evidence of racial discrimination in the American housing market.<ref name=":7"/> Minority applicants for housing needed to make many more inquiries to view properties.<ref name=":7"/> Geographical steering of African-Americans in US housing remains significant.<ref name=":7"/> A 2003 study found "evidence that agents interpret an initial housing request as an indication of a customer's preferences but are also more likely to withhold a house from all customers when it is in an integrated suburban neighborhood ([[redlining]]). Moreover, agents' marketing efforts increase with asking price for white, but not for black, customers; blacks are more likely than whites to see houses in suburban, integrated areas ([[Racial steering|steering]]); and the houses agents show are more likely to deviate from the initial request when the customer is black than when the customer is white. These three findings are consistent with the possibility that agents act upon the belief that some types of transactions are relatively unlikely for black customers (statistical discrimination)."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ondrich|first1=Jan|last2=Ross|first2=Stephen|last3=Yinger|first3=John|date=2003-11-01|title=Now You See It, Now You Don't: Why Do Real Estate Agents Withhold Available Houses from Black Customers?|journal=Review of Economics and Statistics|volume=85|issue=4|pages=854–873|doi=10.1162/003465303772815772|s2cid=8524510|url=http://web2.uconn.edu/economics/working/2001-01.pdf}}</ref> Real estate appraisers discriminate against black homeowners.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kamin|first=Debra|date=2020-08-25|title=Black Homeowners Face Discrimination in Appraisals|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/realestate/blacks-minorities-appraisals-discrimination.html|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Historically, there was extensive and long-lasting racial discrimination against African-Americans in the housing and mortgage markets in the United States,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976535|title=Moving toward Integration|first1=Richard H.|last1=Sander|first2=Yana A.|last2=Kucheva|first3=Jonathan M.|last3=Zasloff|date=2018|publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uncpress.org/book/9781469653662/race-for-profit|title=Race for Profit|first=Keeanga-Yamahtta|last=Taylor|website=University of North Carolina Press|access-date=2019-11-03}}</ref> as well as massive discrimination against black farmers, whose numbers massively declined in post-WWII America due to local and federal anti-black policies.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/09/this-land-was-our-land/594742/|title=The Great Land Robbery|last=Newkirk II|first=Vann R.|date=2019|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2019-08-12|issn=1072-7825}}</ref> Government actions in part facilitated racial discrimination in the housing market, leading to substantial and persistent racial residential segregation and contributing to the [[racial wealth gap]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Faber|first=Jacob W.|date=2020-08-21|title=We Built This: Consequences of New Deal Era Intervention in America's Racial Geography|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=85|issue=5|pages=739–775|doi=10.1177/0003122420948464|s2cid=222003246|issn=0003-1224|doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to a 2019 analysis by University of Pittsburgh economists, blacks faced a two-fold penalty due to the racially segregated housing market: rental prices increased in blocks when they underwent racial transition, whereas home values declined in neighborhoods that blacks moved into.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Akbar|first1=Prottoy A|last2=Li|first2=Sijie|last3=Shertzer|first3=Allison|last4=Walsh|first4=Randall P|date=2019|title=Racial Segregation in Housing Markets and the Erosion of Black Wealth|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w25805|website=National Bureau of Economic Research|series=Working Paper Series |doi=10.3386/w25805 |doi-access=free |s2cid=159270884}}</ref> A 2016 study found that industrial use zoning in Chicago tended to be allocated to neighborhoods that were populated by racial minorities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shertzer|first1=Allison|last2=Twinam|first2=Tate|last3=Walsh|first3=Randall P.|date=2016-07-01|title=Race, Ethnicity, and Discriminatory Zoning|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=8|issue=3|pages=217–246|doi=10.1257/app.20140430|issn=1945-7782|doi-access=free}}</ref>

A report by the federal [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|Department of Housing and Urban Development]] revealed that when the department sent African-Americans and whites to look at apartments, African-Americans were shown fewer apartments to rent and fewer houses for sale than whites were.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.urban.org/research/publication/housing-discrimination-against-racial-and-ethnic-minorities-2012-full-report|title=Housing Discrimination against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012: Full Report|website=urban.org|date=11 June 2013 |access-date=2016-04-23}}</ref> A 2017 study found "that applications [for Airbnb housing] from guests with distinctively African American names are 16 percent less likely to be accepted relative to identical guests with distinctively white names."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benjamin|first1=Edelman|last2=Michael|first2=Luca|last3=Dan|first3=Svirsky|date=2017-04-01|title=Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment |journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=9|issue=2|pages=1–22|doi=10.1257/app.20160213|issn=1945-7782|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2020 audit study of Boston found that prospective white renters were 32 percentage points more likely to be shown an apartment than similar prospective black renters.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Black renters face egregious housing discrimination, study shows – The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/01/metro/blacks-voucher-holders-face-egregious-housing-discrimination-study-says/|access-date=2020-07-01|website=BostonGlobe.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Qualified Renters Need Not Apply: Race and Voucher Discrimination in the Metro Boston Rental Housing Market|url=https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suffolk/documents/news/2020/law-news/rental_housing_study_july2020.pdf}}</ref>

A 2017 paper by Troesken and Walsh found that pre-20th century cities "created and sustained residential segregation through private norms and vigilante activity." However, "when these private arrangements began to break down during the early 1900s", whites started "lobbying municipal governments for segregation ordinances". As a result, cities passed ordinances that "prohibited members of the majority racial group on a given city block from selling or renting property to members of another racial group" between 1909 and 1917.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Walsh|first1=Randall|last2=Troesken|first2=Werner|title=Collective Action, White Flight, and the Origins of Racial Zoning Laws|journal=The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization|volume=35|issue=2|pages=289–318|doi=10.1093/jleo/ewz006|year=2019|hdl=10.1093/jleo/ewz006|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Government policies have contributed significantly to the racial gap in homeownership because various government policies and benefits have made it easier for whites to become homeowners relative to blacks.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Chloe N.|date=2018|title=At the Boundaries of Homeownership: Credit, Discrimination, and the American State|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/at-the-boundaries-of-homeownership/59212D3DEC471C51E6990002E2C367E3|access-date=2020-06-13 |doi=10.1017/9781108380058|isbn=9781108422055}}</ref> A 2017 study by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economists found that the practice of [[redlining]]—the practice whereby banks discriminated against the inhabitants of certain neighborhoods—had a persistent adverse impact on the neighborhoods, with redlining affecting homeownership rates, home values, and credit scores in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Daniel |last1=Aaronson |first2=Daniel A. |last2=Hartley |first3=Bhashkar |last3=Mazumder |title=The Effects of the 1930s HOLC 'Redlining' Maps |journal=FRB of Chicago Working Paper No. WP-2017-12 |date=September 2017 |ssrn=3038733}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/upshot/how-redlinings-racist-effects-lasted-for-decades.html|title=How Redlining's Racist Effects Lasted for Decades|last=Badger|first=Emily|date=2017-08-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-08-26|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Since many African-Americans could not access conventional home loans, they had to turn to predatory lenders, who charged high interest rates.<ref name=":16"/> Due to lower home ownership rates, slumlords were able to rent out apartments that would otherwise be owned.<ref name=":16"/> A 2019 analysis estimated that predatory housing contracts targeting African-Americans in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s cost black families between $3 billion and $4 billion in wealth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/contract-buying-robbed-black-families-in-chicago-of-billions/d643ea19-2977-43d7-81c7-1d7a568c5c81|title=Contract Buying Robbed Black Families In Chicago Of Billions|last=Moore|first=Natalie|website=WBEZ|date=30 May 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190605221042/https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/contract-buying-robbed-black-families-in-chicago-of-billions/d643ea19-2977-43d7-81c7-1d7a568c5c81|archive-date=2019-06-05|access-date=2019-06-05}}</ref>

A 2017 study in ''Research & Politics'' found that white supporters of Donald Trump became less likely to approve of federal housing assistance when they were shown an image of a black man.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/9/8/16270040/trump-clinton-supporters-racist|title=Study: Trump fans are much angrier about housing assistance when they see an image of a black man|work=Vox|access-date=2017-09-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Luttig|first1=Matthew D.|last2=Federico|first2=Christopher M.|last3=Lavine|first3=Howard|date=2017-10-01|title=Supporters and opponents of Donald Trump respond differently to racial cues: An experimental analysis |journal=Research & Politics|volume=4|issue=4|page=2053168017737411|doi=10.1177/2053168017737411|issn=2053-1680|doi-access=free}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''American Sociological Review'' found that housing market professionals (real estate agents, housing developers, mortgage appraisers, and home value appraisers) held derogatory racial views about black and Latino individuals and neighborhoods, whereas white individuals and neighborhoods were beneficiaries of widely shared, positive racial beliefs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Korver-Glenn|first=Elizabeth|date=2018-06-21|title=Compounding Inequalities: How Racial Stereotypes and Discrimination Accumulate across the Stages of Housing Exchange|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=83|issue=4|pages=627–656|doi=10.1177/0003122418781774|s2cid=149810113|issn=0003-1224}}</ref>

A 2018 experimental study by University of Illinois and Duke University economists found that real estate agents and housing providers systematically recommended homes in neighborhoods with higher poverty rates, greater pollution, higher crime rates, fewer college-educated families, and fewer skilled workers to minority individuals who had all the same characteristics as white individuals except ethnic differences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Christensen|first1=Peter|last2=Timmins|first2=Christopher|date=2018|title=Sorting or Steering: Experimental Evidence on the Economic Effects of Housing Discrimination|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w24826|website=National Bureau of Economic Research|series=Working Paper Series |doi=10.3386/w24826 |doi-access=free |s2cid=235323585}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''American Political Science Review'' found that white voters in areas that experienced massive African-American population growth between 1940 and 1960 were more likely to vote for [[California Proposition 14 (1964)]], which sought to enshrine legal protections for landlords and property owners who discriminated against "colored" buyers and renters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Reny|first1=Tyler T.|last2=Newman|first2=Benjamin J.|s2cid=149560682|date=2018|title=Protecting the Right to Discriminate: The Second Great Migration and Racial Threat in the American West|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=112|issue=4|pages=1104–1110|doi=10.1017/S0003055418000448|issn=0003-0554}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''Journal of Politics'' found extensive evidence of discrimination against blacks and Hispanics in the New York City rental market.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fang|first1=Albert H.|last2=Guess|first2=Andrew M.|last3=Humphreys|first3=Macartan|s2cid=44470452|title=Can the Government Deter Discrimination? Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in New York City|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=81|pages=127–141|doi=10.1086/700107|issn=0022-3816|hdl=10419/209709|year=2019|hdl-access=free}}</ref> A 2018 study in the journal ''Regional Science and Urban Economics'' found that there was discrimination against blacks and Arab males in the U.S. rental market.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Murchie|first1=Judson|last2=Pang|first2=Jindong|date=2018|title=Rental Housing Discrimination Across Protected Classes: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment|journal=Regional Science and Urban Economics|volume=73|pages=170–179|doi=10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2018.10.003|bibcode=2018RSUE...73..170M |s2cid=158845046|issn=0166-0462}}</ref> A 2018 study in the ''Journal of Regional Science'' found that "black households pay more for identical housing in identical neighborhoods than their white counterparts [...] In neighborhoods with the smallest fraction white, the premium is about 0.6%. In neighborhoods with the largest fraction white, it is about 2.4%."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Early|first1=Dirk W.|last2=Carrillo|first2=Paul E.|last3=Olsen|first3=Edgar O.|title=Racial rent differences in U.S. housing markets: Evidence from the housing voucher program|journal=Journal of Regional Science|issue=4|pages=669–700|doi=10.1111/jors.12422|issn=1467-9787|year=2019|volume=59|bibcode=2019JRegS..59..669E |s2cid=158658460}}</ref>

A 2022 study found that ethnic minority hosts on Airbnb charge lower prices due to discrimination by consumers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Laouénan|first1=Morgane|last2=Rathelot|first2=Roland|date=2022|title=Can Information Reduce Ethnic Discrimination? Evidence from Airbnb|url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20190188|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|language=en|volume=14|issue=1|pages=107–132|doi=10.1257/app.20190188|s2cid=222184953|issn=1945-7782}}</ref>

=== Labor market ===
Several meta-analyses find extensive evidence of ethnic and racial discrimination in hiring in the American labor market.<ref name=":7"/><ref name="tests–2015" /><ref name="Field Exp" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hexel|first1=Ole|last2=Fleischmann|first2=Fenella|last3=Midtbøen|first3=Arnfinn H.|last4=Pager|first4=Devah|last5=Heath|first5=Anthony|last6=Quillian|first6=Lincoln|date=2019-06-17|title=Do Some Countries Discriminate More than Others? Evidence from 97 Field Experiments of Racial Discrimination in Hiring|journal=Sociological Science|volume=6|pages=467–496|doi=10.15195/v6.a18|issn=2330-6696|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2017 meta-analysis found "no change in the levels of discrimination against African Americans since 1989, although we do find some indication of declining discrimination against Latinos."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Quillian|first1=Lincoln|last2=Pager|first2=Devah|last3=Hexel|first3=Ole|last4=Midtbøen|first4=Arnfinn H.|date=2017-09-12|title=Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change in racial discrimination in hiring over time |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=114|issue=41|pages=10870–10875|doi=10.1073/pnas.1706255114|pmid=28900012|pmc=5642692|bibcode=2017PNAS..11410870Q |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2016 meta-analysis of 738 correspondence tests – tests where identical CVs for stereotypically black and white names were sent to employers – in 43 separate studies conducted in OECD countries between 1990 and 2015 finds that there is extensive racial discrimination in hiring decisions in Europe and North America.<ref name="tests–2015" /> These correspondence tests showed that equivalently, minority candidates need to send around 50% more applications to be invited for an interview than majority candidates.<ref name="tests–2015" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bertrand|first1=Marianne|last2=Mullainathan|first2=Sendhil|title=Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination |journal=American Economic Review|volume=94|issue=4|pages=991–1013|doi=10.1257/0002828042002561|year=2004|url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/fieldexperiments-papers2/papers/00216.pdf}}</ref> A study that examined the job applications of actual people provided with identical résumés and similar interview training showed that African-American applicants with no criminal record were offered jobs at a rate as low as white applicants who had criminal records.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pager|first1=Devah|last2=Western|first2=Bruce|last3=Bonikowski|first3=Bart|date=2009-10-01|title=Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market A Field Experiment|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=74|issue=5|pages=777–799|doi=10.1177/000312240907400505|pmc=2915472|pmid=20689685}}</ref> A 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research paper found evidence of racial bias in how CVs were evaluated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lahey|first1=Joanna N|last2=Oxley|first2=Douglas R|date=2018|title=Discrimination at the Intersection of Age, Race, and Gender: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-field Experiment |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w25357|doi=10.3386/w25357 |doi-access=free |s2cid=38242869}}</ref> A 2020 study found that there is not only discrimination towards minorities in callback rates in audit studies, but that the discrimination gets more severe after the callbacks in terms of job offers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Quillian|first1=Lincoln|last2=Lee|first2=John J.|last3=Oliver|first3=Mariana|title=Evidence from Field Experiments in Hiring Shows Substantial Additional Racial Discrimination after the Callback|journal=Social Forces|year=2020|volume=99|issue=2|pages=732–759|doi=10.1093/sf/soaa026|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2022 study involving 83,000 job applications sent to the 108 largest U.S. employers found that employers consistently favored applications with distinctively white names over black names.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kline |first1=Patrick |last2=Rose |first2=Evan K |last3=Walters |first3=Christopher R |date=2022 |title=Systemic Discrimination Among Large U.S. Employers* |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjac024 |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume=137 |issue=4 |pages=1963–2036 |doi=10.1093/qje/qjac024 |issn=0033-5533}}</ref> A 2021 study found discrimination among Swiss job recruiters against immigrant and minority groups.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hangartner|first1=Dominik|last2=Kopp|first2=Daniel|last3=Siegenthaler|first3=Michael|date=2021-01-20|title=Monitoring hiring discrimination through online recruitment platforms|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03136-0|journal=Nature|volume=589|issue=7843|pages=572–576|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03136-0|pmid=33473211|bibcode=2021Natur.589..572H|s2cid=213021251|issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

Research suggests that light-skinned African American women have higher salaries and greater job satisfaction than dark-skinned women.<ref name="Hunter">{{cite journal | last1 = Hunter | first1 = Margaret | year = 2002 | title = 'If You're Light You're Alright': Light Skin Color as Social Capital for Women of Color | journal = Gender and Society | volume = 16 | issue = 2| pages = 175–93 | doi=10.1177/08912430222104895| s2cid = 145727411}}</ref> Being "too black" has recently been acknowledged by the U.S. Federal courts in an employment discrimination case under Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. In ''Etienne v. Spanish Lake Truck & Casino Plaza, LLC'', the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] determined that an employee who was told on several occasions that her manager thought she was "too black" to do various tasks found that the issue of the employee's skin color rather than race itself played a key role in an employer's decision to keep the employee from advancing.<ref>{{cite journal|date=25 February 2015|title="Too Black": Waitress's Claim of Color Bias Raises Novel Title VII Claim|url=http://www.natlawreview.com/article/too-black-waitress-s-claim-color-bias-raises-novel-title-vii-claim|journal=The National Law Review|last1=Riddle|first1=Benjamin L.|access-date=28 February 2015}}</ref> A 2018 study found evidence suggesting discrimination against immigrants with darker skin colors.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Colorism Against Legal Immigrants to the United States|journal=American Behavioral Scientist|volume=62|issue=14|pages=2117–2132|date=2018|doi=10.1177/0002764218810758|last1 = Hersch|first1 = Joni|s2cid=150280312}}</ref>

A 2019 experimental study found that there was a bias against blacks, Latinos, and women in the hiring of postdocs in the fields of biology and physics.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2019/06/racial-and-gender-biases-plague-postdoc-hiring|title=Racial and gender biases plague postdoc hiring|last=Langin|first=Katie|date=2019-06-03|journal=Science|access-date=2019-06-05|doi=10.1126/science.caredit.aay2605|s2cid=195456423}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eaton|first1=Asia A.|last2=Saunders|first2=Jessica F.|last3=Jacobson|first3=Ryan K.|last4=West|first4=Keon|date=2019-06-03|title=How Gender and Race Stereotypes Impact the Advancement of Scholars in STEM: Professors' Biased Evaluations of Physics and Biology Post-Doctoral Candidates|journal=Sex Roles|volume=82|issue=3–4|pages=127–141|doi=10.1007/s11199-019-01052-w|s2cid=189874898|issn=1573-2762|url=https://research.gold.ac.uk/26141/1/Eaton%20et%20al.%2C%202019%2C%20Sex%20Roles.pdf}}</ref> A 2020 study, which used a natural experiment with sun exposure and tans, found that darker-skinned individuals are discriminated against in the labor market.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Katz|first1=Tamar Kricheli|last2=Regev|first2=Tali|last3=Lavie|first3=Shay|last4=Porat|first4=Haggai|last5=Avraham|first5=Ronen|date=2020-07-24|title=Those who tan and those who don't: A natural experiment on colorism|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=15|issue=7|page=e0235438|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0235438|issn=1932-6203|pmc=7380621|pmid=32706822|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1535438K|doi-access=free}}</ref>

A 2008 study found that black service providers receive lower tips than white service providers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lynn|first1=Michael|last2=Sturman|first2=Michael|last3=Ganley|first3=Christie|last4=Adams|first4=Elizabeth|last5=Douglas|first5=Mathew|last6=McNeil|first6=Jessica|date=2008|title=Consumer Racial Discrimination in Tipping: A Replication and Extension|journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology|volume=38|issue=4|pages=1045–1060|doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00338.x|hdl=1813/71558|issn=0021-9029|url=https://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/articles/27|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Research shows that "[[Ban the Box|ban the box]]" (the removal of the check box asking job applicants if they have criminal records) leads employers to discriminate against young, black, low-skilled applicants, possibly because employers simply assume these applicants have checkered pasts when they are not able to confirm it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://econofact.org/the-effects-of-ban-the-box-on-the-employment-of-black-men|title=The Effects of 'Ban the Box' on the Employment of Black Men|date=2017-06-09|website=Econofact|access-date=2019-01-20}}</ref>

===Media===
Colorism in movies, print, and music can take several forms. It can be the representation of people of color in an ill light, the hiring of actors based on their skin color, the use of colors in costumes with the intention to differentiate between good and evil characters, or simply failing to represent people of color at all.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Colorism In Media – The West Georgian|date=14 September 2018 |url=http://thewestgeorgian.com/colorism-in-media/|access-date=2021-03-19}}</ref>

African Americans with lighter skin tone and "European features", such as lighter eyes and smaller noses and lips, have more opportunities in the media industry. For example, film producers hire lighter-skinned African Americans more often, television producers choose lighter-skinned cast members, and magazine editors choose African American models that resemble European features.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Woodard | first1 = K | year = 2000 | title = Traumatic Shame: Toni Morrison, Televisual Culture, and the Cultural Politics of the Emotions | journal = Cultural Critique | volume = 46 | issue = 1| pages = 210–240 | doi=10.2307/1354414| jstor = 1354414}}</ref> A content analysis conducted by Scott and Neptune (1997) shows that less than one percent of advertisements in major magazines featured African American models. When African Americans did appear in advertisements, they were mainly portrayed as athletes, entertainers, or unskilled laborers. In addition, seventy percent of the advertisements that featured animal print included African American women. Animal print reinforces the stereotypes that African Americans are animalistic in nature, sexually active, less educated, have lower income, and are extremely concerned with their personal appearances.<ref name="Pious">{{cite journal | last1 = Pious | first1 = Scott | last2 = Neptune | first2 = Dominique | year = 1997 | title = Racial and Gender Biases in Magazine Advertising: A Content-Analytic Study | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 21 | issue = 4| pages = 627–644 | doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00135.x| s2cid = 12155745}}</ref> Concerning African American males in the media, darker-skinned men are more likely to be portrayed as violent or more threatening, influencing the public perception of African American men. Since dark-skinned males are more likely to be linked to crime and misconduct, many people develop preconceived notions about the characteristics of black men.<ref name="Hall">{{cite journal|year=1995|title=The bleaching syndrome: African American's response to cultural domination vis-A-vis skin color|journal=Journal of Black Studies|volume=26|issue=2|pages=172–184|doi=10.1177/002193479502600205|last1=Hall|first1=R|s2cid=143934823}}</ref>

Colorism was, and still is, very evident in the media. An example of this is the [[minstrel show]]s that were popular during and after slavery. Minstrel shows were a very popular form of theater that involved white and black people in blackface, portraying black people while doing demeaning things. The actors painted their faces with black paint and overlined their lips with bright red lipstick to exaggerate and make fun of black people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/jackson/minstrel/minstrel.html|title=The Minstrel Show|website=chnm.gmu.edu|access-date=2017-11-14|archive-date=2017-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128092832/http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/jackson/minstrel/minstrel.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> When minstrel shows died out and television became popular, black actors were rarely hired, and when they were, they had very specific roles. These roles included being servants, slaves, idiots, and criminals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Punyanunt|first=Narissa|title=The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television|journal=The Howard Journal of Communications}}</ref>

The absence of people of color in media, in settings where they normally should be present, is also called erasure.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Sandra E. |title=Where Did BIPOC Come From? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-bipoc.html |access-date=September 8, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
A 2011 study found that white state legislators of both political parties were less likely to respond to constituents with African-American names.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1-link=Daniel M. Butler|last1=Butler|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Broockman|first2=David E.|date=2011-07-01|title=Do Politicians Racially Discriminate Against Constituents? A Field Experiment on State Legislators |journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=55|issue=3|pages=463–477|doi=10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00515.x|citeseerx=10.1.1.688.2175|s2cid=55763211 }}</ref> A 2013 study found that in response to e-mail correspondence from a putatively black alias, "nonblack legislators were markedly less likely to respond when their political incentives to do so were diminished, black legislators typically continued to respond even when doing so promised little political reward. Black legislators thus appear substantially more intrinsically motivated to advance blacks' interests."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Broockman|first=David E. |date=2013-07-01|title=Black Politicians Are More Intrinsically Motivated to Advance Blacks' Interests: A Field Experiment Manipulating Political Incentives |journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=57|issue=3|pages=521–536|doi=10.1111/ajps.12018|s2cid=152518282 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4gq0b5s7}}</ref>

Some research suggests that white voters' voting behavior is motivated by racial threat. A 2016 study, for instance, found that white Chicago voters' turnout decreased when public housing was reconstructed and 25,000 African Americans were displaced. This suggests that white voters' turnout decreased due to not living in proximity to African-Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Enos|first=Ryan D.|s2cid=51895998|date=2016-01-01|title=What the Demolition of Public Housing Teaches Us about the Impact of Racial Threat on Political Behavior |journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=60|issue=1|pages=123–142|doi=10.1111/ajps.12156}}</ref>

[[Voter ID laws in the United States|Voter ID laws]] have brought on accusations of racial discrimination. In a 2014 review by the [[Government Accountability Office]] of the academic literature, three studies out of five found that voter ID laws reduced minority turnout, whereas two studies found no significant impact.<ref name=":72">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-634|title=Elections: Issues Related to State Voter Identification Laws [Reissued on February 27, 2015]|website=gao.gov|access-date=2016-04-03}}</ref> Disparate impact may also be reflected in access to information about voter ID laws. A 2015 experimental study found that election officials queried about voter ID laws are more likely to respond to emails from a non-Latino white name (70.5% response rate) than a Latino name (64.8% response rate), though response accuracy was similar across groups.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=White|first1=Ariel R.|last2=Nathan|first2=Noah L.|last3=Faller|first3=Julie K.|date=2015-02-01|title=What Do I Need to Vote? Bureaucratic Discretion and Discrimination by Local Election Officials |journal=American Political Science Review|volume=109|issue=1|pages=129–142|doi=10.1017/S0003055414000562|s2cid=145471717}}</ref> Studies have also analyzed racial differences in ID request rates. A 2012 study in the city of Boston found that black and Hispanic voters were more likely to be asked for ID during the 2008 election. According to exit polls, 23% of whites, 33% of blacks, and 38% of Hispanics were asked for ID, though this effect is partially attributed to blacks and Hispanics preferring non-peak voting hours when election officials inspected a greater portion of IDs. Precinct differences also confound the data, as black and Hispanic voters tended to vote in black and Hispanic-majority precincts.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last1=Cobb|first1=Rachael V.|last2=Greiner|last3=James|first3=D.|last4=Quinn|first4=Kevin M.|date=2010-06-14|title=Can Voter ID Laws Be Administered in a Race-Neutral Manner? Evidence from the City of Boston in 2008|ssrn=1625041}}</ref> A 2010 study of the 2006 midterm election in New Mexico found that Hispanics were more likely to incur ID requests, while early voters, women, and non-Hispanics were less likely to incur requests.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Atkeson|first1=Lonna Rae|last2=Bryant|first2=Lisa Ann|last3=Hall|first3=Thad E.|last4=Saunders|first4=Kyle|last5=Alvarez|first5=Michael|date=2010-03-01|title=A new barrier to participation: Heterogeneous application of voter identification policies |journal=Electoral Studies|volume=29|issue=1|pages=66–73|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2009.08.001}}</ref> A 2009 study of the 2006 midterm election nationwide found that 47% of white voters reported being asked to show photo identification at the polls, compared with 54% of Hispanics and 55% of African Americans.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal|last=Ansolabehere|first=Stephen|s2cid=15315808|date=2009-01-01|title=Effects of Identification Requirements on Voting: Evidence from the Experiences of Voters on Election Day |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics|volume=42|issue=1|pages=127–130|doi=10.1017/S1049096509090313}}</ref> Very few were, however, denied the vote as a result of voter identification requests.<ref name=":42"/> A 2015 study found that turnout among blacks in Georgia was generally higher since the state began enforcing its strict voter ID law.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Voter Identification and Black Voter Turnout An Examination of Black Voter Turnout Patterns in Georgia, 2000–2014|jstor=43681953|journal=Phylon|volume=52|issue=2|pages=43–67|last1=Gillespie|first1=June Andra|year=2015}}</ref> A 2016 study by [[University of California, San Diego]] researchers found that voter ID laws "have a differentially negative impact on the turnout of Hispanics, Blacks, and mixed-race Americans in primaries and general elections."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.ucsd.edu/~zhajnal/page5/documents/voterIDhajnaletal.pdf|title=Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes|date=2016|access-date=29 March 2016|author=Hajnal, Zoltan|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

Research by University of Oxford economist Evan Soltas and Stanford political scientist David Broockman suggests that voters act upon racially discriminatory tastes.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last1=Soltas|first1=Evan|last2=Broockman|first2=David E.|date=2017-02-23|title=Taste-Based Discrimination Against Nonwhite Political Candidates: Evidence from a Natural Experiment|ssrn=2920729}}</ref> A 2018 study in ''[[Public Opinion Quarterly]]'' found that whites, in particular those who had racial resentment, largely attributed Obama's success among African-Americans to his race and not his characteristics as a candidate or the political preferences of African-Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=David C.|last2=Davis|first2=Darren W.|title=The Racial Double Standardattributing Racial Motivations in Voting Behavior|journal=Public Opinion Quarterly|volume=82|pages=63–86|doi=10.1093/poq/nfx050|year=2018}}</ref> A 2018 study in the journal ''[[American Politics Research]]'' found that white voters tended to misperceive political candidates from racial minorities as being more ideologically extreme than objective indicators would suggest; this adversely affected the electoral chances for those candidates.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2018|title=Too Liberal to Win? Race and Voter Perceptions of Candidate Ideology|journal=American Politics Research|volume=46|issue=5|pages=909–939|doi=10.1177/1532673X18759642|last1=Fulton|first1=Sarah A|last2=Gershon|first2=Sarah Allen|s2cid=158113285}}</ref> A 2018 study in the ''[[The Journal of Politics|Journal of Politics]]'' found that "when a white candidate makes vague statements, many [nonblack] voters project their own policy positions onto the candidate, increasing support for the candidate. But they are less likely to extend black candidates the same courtesy. [...] In fact, black male candidates who make ambiguous statements are actually punished for doing so by racially prejudiced voters."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Piston|first1=Spencer|last2=Krupnikov|first2=Yanna|last3=Milita|first3=Kerri|last4=Ryan|first4=John Barry|date=2018-03-01|title=Clear as Black and White: The Effects of Ambiguous Rhetoric Depend on Candidate Race|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=80|issue=2|page=000|doi=10.1086/696619|issn=0022-3816|hdl=2144/31470|s2cid=148940141|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

A 2018 study found evidence of racial-motivated reasoning as voters assessed President [[Barack Obama]]'s economic performance. The study found that "Whites attributed more responsibility to Obama under negative economic conditions (i.e., blame) than positive economic conditions (i.e., credit). [...] Whites attributed equal responsibility to the President and governors for negative economic conditions, but gave more responsibility to governors than Obama for positive conditions. Whites also gave governors more responsibility for state improvements than they gave Obama for national ones."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=David C.|last2=Davis|first2=Darren W.|date=2018|title=Appraisals of President Obama's economic performance: Racial resentment and attributional responsibility|journal=Electoral Studies|volume=55|pages=62–72|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2018.08.002|s2cid=158732166|issn=0261-3794}}</ref> It is also alleged that during his senatorial run in 2008 against former senator and later presidential candidate [[Hillary Clinton]], Clinton's campaign team intentionally darkened Obama's face while running campaign ads. Although her camp denied the accusations, the intention, whether apparent or not, stems from the system of colorism and viewing or equating darker skin tones as bad and in a negative light.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-23 |title=How light or dark is Barack Obama's skin? Depends on your political stance… |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-light-or-dark-is-barack-obamas-skin-depends-on-your-political-stance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415025333/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-light-or-dark-is-barack-obamas-skin-depends-on-your-political-stance |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Science |language=en}}</ref>

A 2018 study examining "all 24 African American challengers (non-incumbents) from 2000 to 2014 to white challengers from the same party running in the same state for the same office around the same time" found "that white challengers are about three times more likely to win and receive about 13 percentage points more support among white voters. These estimates hold when controlling for a number of potential confounding factors and when employing several statistical matching estimators."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tokeshi|first=Matthew|date=2018-08-28|title=Why are African American Governors and U.S. Senators so Rare? Exploring White Voters' Responses to African American Statewide Candidates|journal=Political Behavior|volume=42|pages=285–304|doi=10.1007/s11109-018-9496-y|s2cid=158354009|issn=0190-9320}}</ref>

A 2019 study found that whites are less supportive of welfare when they are told that blacks are the majority of recipients (as opposed to whites).<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|title=Shifting Stereotypes of Welfare Recipients Can Reverse Racial Biases in Support for Wealth Redistribution|journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science|volume=10|issue=8|pages=1065–1074|date=2019|doi=10.1177/1948550619829062|last1 = Cooley|first1 = Erin|last2=Brown-Iannuzzi|first2=Jazmin L.|last3=Boudreau|first3=Caroline|s2cid=150926190}}</ref> However, when informed that most welfare recipients eventually gain jobs and leave the welfare program, this racial bias disappears.<ref name=":22"/>

An analysis by MIT political scientist Regina Bateson found that Americans engage in strategic discrimination against racial minority candidates out of a belief that they are less electable than white male candidates. "In the abstract, Americans consider white men more "electable" than equally qualified black and female candidates. Additionally, concerns about winning the votes of white men can cause voters to rate black and female Democratic candidates as less capable of beating Donald Trump in 2020."<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Bateson|first=Regina|date=2019-06-30|title=Strategic Discrimination |ssrn=3412626}}</ref>

A 2019 paper found, using smartphone data, that voters in predominantly black neighborhoods waited far longer at polling places than voters in white neighborhoods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smartphone-data-show-voters-in-black-neighborhoods-wait-longer1/|title=Smartphone Data Show Voters in Black Neighborhoods Wait Longer|last=Garisto|first=Daniel|website=Scientific American|access-date=2019-10-13}}</ref>

A 2021 study in the ''American Political Science Review'' found that black protestors were perceived to be more violent in protests than white protestors when they were protesting for the same goals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Manekin|first1=Devorah|last2=Mitts|first2=Tamar|date=2021|title=Effective for Whom? Ethnic Identity and Nonviolent Resistance|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/effective-for-whom-ethnic-identity-and-nonviolent-resistance/D78EE1F9EE3B41D6F1500311F17B8EA6|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=116|pages=161–180|language=en|doi=10.1017/S0003055421000940|s2cid=212409424|issn=0003-0554}}</ref>

===Beauty===
{{see also|Sexual racism|Skin whitening}}

Susan L. Bryant has written that the European beauty standard is "the notion that the more closely associated a person is with European features, the more attractive he or she is considered".<ref>{{Cite periodical |last=Bryant|first=Susan L.|date=2013|title=The Beauty Ideal: The Effects Of European Standards Of Beauty On Black Women |periodical=Columbia Academic Commons |volume=4|issue=1|pages=80–91|doi=10.7916/D8DF6PQ6}}</ref> 

However, an actual study that sought to test this hypothesis found no evidence of a "Eurocentric beauty standard" for women. Using [[Chinese people|Chinese]] immigrants and [[White American|White]] [[Americans|American citizens]], this study found that their ideals of female beauty were not significantly different.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Cunningham | first=Michael  | first4=Perri B. | last5=Wu | first5=Cheng-Huan | title="Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole, the same as ours": Consistency and variability in the cross-cultural perception of female physical attractiveness. | journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume=68 | issue=2 | date=1995 | issn=1939-1315 | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.261 | pages=261–279}}</ref> Participants in the study rated [[Asian people|Asian]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latina]] women as more attractive than [[White American|White]] and [[Black women]], and it was found that Asian and Latina women had more of the attributes that were considered attractive for women.<ref>{{harvnb|Cunningham|1995|p=1995|ps=: "All groups of judges made more positive ratings of the Asian and Hispanic targets compared with the Black and White targets. Further analyses indicated that the Asian and Hispanic targets happened to possess significantly larger eye height, eye width, nose width, eyebrow height, smile width, and upper lip width than the White and Black women".}}</ref> Exposure to [[Western media]] did not influence or improve the Asian men's ratings of White women, which is inconsistent with the idea of a "Eurocentric beauty ideal".<ref>{{harvnb|Cunningham|1995|p=271|ps=: "The four-item measure of exposure to Western culture was not reliably associated with giving higher ratings to Whites (r = . 19, n s). The relation of rating Whites to frequency of viewing Western television, for example, was quite low (r=.01)."}}</ref> Shirley Hune notes that the success of Asian and mixed-Asian women in beauty pageants casts doubt on the idea of a Eurocentric beauty ideal.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hune |first1=Shirley |last2=Nomura |first2=Gail M. |title=Asian/Pacific Islander American Women: A Historical Anthology |date=August 2003 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-3633-3 |page=201 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD1BR4NppWcC&dq=european+beauty+standard+asia&pg=PA201 |language=en}} "The dawning of the new millennium may signal a shift in the cultural importance of racialized gendered bodies. On October 14, 2000, a  Filipina American, Miss Hawaii Angela Perez Baraquio, was crowned Miss America for 2001. A few years earlier another Miss Hawaii, a mixed-race part-Asian American woman named Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee, won not only the Miss USA competition but the title of 1997 Miss Universe. Such victories do not necessarily mean full acceptance for Asian Americans into the American body politic. However they do signal a breakdown in the hegemony of European-American cultural standards of beauty."</ref>

=== Sports ===
A 2018 study found evidence that non-black voters in [[Heisman Trophy]] voting were biased against non-black players.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kopkin|first=Nolan|title=Evidence of Own-Race Bias in Heisman Trophy Voting*|journal=Social Science Quarterly|volume=100|pages=176–197|doi=10.1111/ssqu.12567|issn=0038-4941|year=2019|s2cid=149976487}}</ref> A 2021 study found that black NBA players were 30% more likely to exit the league in any given season than white players with similar player statistics.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Norris|first1=Davon|last2=Moss-Pech|first2=Corey|date=2021|title=White Men Can't Jump, but Does It Even Matter? Exit Discrimination in the NBA|url=https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sf/soab009/6146611|journal=Social Forces|volume=100|issue=3|pages=961–989|doi=10.1093/sf/soab009}}</ref> A 2019 study found that after controlling for objective measures of performance, broadcast commentators were "more likely to discuss the performance and mental abilities of lighter-skinned players and the physical characteristics of darker-skinned players" in the Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Foy|first1=Steven L.|last2=Ray|first2=Rashawn|date=2019-11-01|title=Skin in the Game: Colorism and the Subtle Operation of Stereotypes in Men's College Basketball|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=125|issue=3|pages=730–785|doi=10.1086/707243|s2cid=213499976|issn=0002-9602|url=https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=soc_fac}}</ref>

A 2020 report found that football commentators were more likely to praise white players for their intelligence and leadership qualities while criticizing black players for lacking those attributes. Black players were four times more likely to be praised for their strength and seven times more likely to be praised for their speed.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Rory|date=2020-06-30|title='Intelligent' or 'Strong': Study Finds Bias in Soccer Broadcasts|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/sports/soccer/soccer-racism-broadcasting.html|access-date=2020-06-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

A 2017 study found that racially resentful whites become less likely to favor salaries for college athletes when they are primed to think about African Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wallsten|first1=Kevin|last2=Nteta|first2=Tatishe M.|last3=McCarthy|first3=Lauren A.|last4=Tarsi|first4=Melinda R.|date=2017-03-01|title=Prejudice or Principled Conservatism? Racial Resentment and White Opinion toward Paying College Athletes|journal=Political Research Quarterly|volume=70|issue=1|pages=209–222|doi=10.1177/1065912916685186|s2cid=152217074|issn=1065-9129}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Apartheid]]
* [[Black nationalism]]
* [[Black people and temple and priesthood policies in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Black people and Mormon priesthood]]
* [[Black Power]]
* [[Black Power movement]]
* [[Black supremacy]]
* [[Colonial mentality]]
* [[Fitzpatrick scale]] for skin color
* [[Hoteps]]
* [[Internalized racism]]
* [[One-drop rule]]
* [[Persecution of people with albinism]]
* [[Health and appearance of Michael Jackson#Skin diseases|Skin color of Michael Jackson]]
* [[Tanning dependence|Tanorexia]]
* [[White Australia policy]]
* [[White genocide conspiracy theory]]
* [[White nationalism]]
* [[White supremacy]]
* [[Yellow Peril]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite magazine |last=Chesnutt |first=Charles W. |author-link=Charles W. Chesnutt |date=July 1898 |title=The Wife of His Youth |title-link=The Wife of His Youth |magazine=[[The Atlantic Magazine]]}} In depth information regarding the Blue Vein Society.
* ''Don't Play In the Sun'' by Marita Golden ({{ISBN|0-385-50786-0}})
* [[Michael G. Hanchard]]. 2018. ''[https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177137/the-spectre-of-race The Spectre of Race: How Discrimination Haunts Western Democracy]''. Princeton University Press.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Harrison | first1 = Matthew S | year = 2010 | title = The Often Un-discussed "ism" in America's Work Force | url = http://www.thejuryexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/HarrisonTJEJan2010.pdf | journal = The Jury Expert | volume = 22 | issue = 1| pages = 67–77 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hunter | first1 = Margaret | s2cid = 11960841 | year = 2007 | title = The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality | journal = Sociology Compass | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 237–254 | doi=10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x}}
* {{cite book |last=Jablonski |first=Nina G. |title=Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw7loAEACAAJ |date=10 January 2014 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-28386-2 |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1pn64b |chapter=Living Color }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Kerr | first1 = Audrey E | year = 2005 | title = The Paper Bag Principle: Of the Myth and the Motion of Colorism | journal = Journal of American Folklore | volume = 118 | issue = 469| pages = 271–289 | doi=10.1353/jaf.2005.0031| s2cid = 144506962 }}
* Lee, Jennifer, and Frank D. Bean. ''The Diversity Paradox: Immigration and the Color Line in Twenty-First Century America''. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140503194339/https://www.russellsage.org/publications/diversity-paradox-0 russelsage review])
* Rondilla, Joanne L, and Spickard, Paul. Is Lighter Better?: Skin-tone Discrimination Among Asian Americans. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007. Print.
* ''The Color Complex [Revised Edition]: The Politics of Skin Color in a New Millennium'' by Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson, and Ronald Hall ({{ISBN|978-0-307-74423-4}})
* Shikibu, Murasaki. ''[[The Tale of Genji]]''. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print.
* {{Cite book |author=Lori L. Tharps |title=Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America's Diverse Families |publisher=Beacon Press |year=2016 | isbn=978-0807076781}}
* ''The Blacker the Berry'' by Wallace Thurman ({{ISBN|0-684-81580-X}})
* {{cite journal | last1 = Verma | first1 = Harsh | year = 2011 | title = Skin 'fairness'-Culturally Embedded Meaning and Branding Implications | journal = Global Business Review | volume = 12 | issue = 2| pages = 193–211 | doi=10.1177/097215091101200202| s2cid = 145725139 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.africaspeaks.com/leslie/051006.html Dealing with Colorism: A Step Towards the African Revolution]
* [http://www.africaspeaks.com/Black-African-Focus/ Black African Focus]
* {{Cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261621460|title=Homicide: Life on the Street: progress in portrayals of African American men|last=Mascaro|first=Thomas A.|date=2004-03-22|journal=Journal of Popular Film and Television|oclc=4652347|doi=10.3200/JPFT.32.1.10-19|s2cid=143574721}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://students.ou.edu/M/Craig.A.Marroquin-1/colorism.html|title=The Face of Colorism |access-date=2008-09-28 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080412133655/http://students.ou.edu/M/Craig.A.Marroquin-1/colorism.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-04-12}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161220200818/http://www.colorismexposed.com/ Origin of Rainbows: Colorism Exposed Documentary]
* [https://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/Story?id=548303&page=1 abcnews.go.com]
* "''Light, Bright, Damn near White''" documentary film
* [http://www.vimeo.com/16210769 Shadeism Documentary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625083202/https://vimeo.com/16210769 |date=2020-06-25 }}

{{Discrimination}}
{{Racism topics}}

[[Category:Discrimination based on skin tone| ]]