You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Any remark of color discrimination among Negroes might, at first thought, occur to many as scandalous and absurd. This ungracious transgression nevertheless, is everywhere so convincing and spectacular that it can hardly escape the attention of the casual observer. The diffused stratification of color presents such a constant clash of differences and such a subtle advantage for selection, that a perverse discrimination has become almost ubiquitous among them.
Indeed, it finds expression in every phase of their internal adjustment; for instance, in the every day speech of the average Negro, as well as on the stage, such expressions as “light,” “high yaller,” “pink,” and “fay” are much glorified symbols, which too frequently have an equal fascination, also, for those who claim to be more cultivated. Each symbol denotes a particular intensity of whiteness and is used not only for the convenience of description but also to indicate glorification, social advantage, prestige, and popular qualities