The entire idea of house Negro / field Negro, light vs. dark, wealthy vs. poor is a fallacy.I'm not talking about the familiar Willie Lynch ideology (sowing discord among Blacks by encouraging classism).Many of the "divisions" in the Black community are simple stereotypes, and often we perpetuate them without thinking about how much sense it makes.Is there classism in Black society? Of course, as there is in every human society. Is there any weight behind it? Not as much as people would think.There will always be those who portray themselves as privileged in an attempt to gain respect, and those who portray themselves as oppressed in an attempt to gain sympathy.The concept of there being some type of social advantage for light-complexioned Blacks or a disadvantage for dark-complexioned Blacks, I think, is very outdated. Historically, this was true, but I don't see much evidence of it now, outside of some superficial men and women wanting a "high yellow" woman or a "dark chocolate" man as a partner.I think the division today is oriented more along the lines of economic class, and Blacks whose customs and behaviors align with "mainstream" or White society. Those who do are seen as "bourgeois" or "sellouts", those who do not are seen as "ghetto" or low class. Both are lies.Most affluent Blacks are hardly out of touch with their identity or history, and go out of their way to maintain it. Most Blacks who are not wealthy are still very intelligent and hardworking. Do not be fooled into buying the stereotypes. The guy in the BMW and Ralph Lauren khakis is probably funding the African American museum in your hometown; the one in the white tee on the corner probably has enough business sense to put an MBA to shame.
Excellent answer, however, it did not completely address the question asked. We all know that the mentality is wrong. However, it does, in fact, still exist. While it may not be so prevalent outside of the Southeastern United States , its still quite rampant in a lot of places (especially in places that are not metropolitan areas). Many of these cities/towns are like taking a step back 50 years. It also has a lot to do with the generation that you're dealing with. Many older people (especially down here) would look at the likes of you and I and swear out that "because you got that light skin" we're automatically a good catch. I doubt anything like this will ever go away. Only because the slavery of Africans was not limited to the United States. While the mentality is not was widely seen in other places, also exists in some Hispanic countries as well.
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It is high time that the world came to know that the
false idea that the house slaves were of a light-skin
coloring and / or tone is a TOTAL URBAN MYTH.
Here is a link to a commentary
on that very same subject
--- CLICK HERE FOR RELATED LINK ---
.
.
Since mention was made of the topic of ‘house
and ‘field’ **** — I just wanted to note
that — actually — this false concept
that so many people have — that the
lighter-complexioned chattel slaves
“had it easier” or “thought they were
better” than the darker-complexioned slaves
– and / or “relaxed in the big house” while
the darker-complexioned slaves “suffered in
the fields” — is very much like the infamous
‘Willie Lynch Letter’ Hoax) all VERY MUCH AN
URBAN MYTH (and is one which, in nearly every
way that’s possible, completely defies
the true historical recorded account.
The historical record shows that
those enslaved people who were of a
lighter-complexion (i.e. mulatto-lineage)
and that were found on the continental
United States during the antebellum
(chattel slavery) era were actually treated
MUCH, MUCH WORSE than were those enslaved
people who were of a darker-complexion.
In fact, record shows that most of the White
people (specially the White women) tended to
look upon the lighter-complexioned slaves
as being mere ‘mongrels of miscegenation’
(resulting largely from the rapes caused
by overseers); in their disgust at the sight
of these slaves — insisted that they be
“banished to the fields”; and also then
purposefully reserved most of the ‘big
house’ positions (ex. mammy, cook, driver,
etc) for the darker-complexioned slaves —
who most of the White people perceived as
being “more loyal, docile, less competitive”
– and, equally important, of a skin tone
which could never cause them to be mistaken
for ‘white’ or a possible member of
the plantation owners’ own family.
And this maltreatment was generally
even much more so the case if the
lighter-complexioned enslaved person
was ’suspected’ (by a wife, sister or
daughter — who ran “the big house”,
while a ‘male’ family member ran “the
plantation”) of possibly being the
offspring of a plantation owner
(or his son, father or brother).
In addition, the few lighter-complexioned
enslaved people that were actually permitted
to do any work within the house were – as
punishment for having the lowly status of
“mongrel” and in order to make sure they
did not become “too uppity” — kept under
much more severe supervision (by both the
White women who ran the plantation household
and also by the darker-complexioned enslaved
people) and under much more severe work
detail than were most of the (more trusted)
darker-complexioned enslaved people.
Books by Deborah Gray White; Paula Giddings;
J. California Cooper; bell hooks’, etc. expose
the truth about the urban-myth and show
that the lighter slaves received NO special
treatment and were (as mere “mongrels
of miscegenation”) usually treated much
worse than were darker-complexioned slaves.
Hope this information is helpful
& that everyone has a great day.
– AP (soaptalk@hotmail.com)
Generation-Mixed : A group for all Multi-racials everywhereMGM-Mixed : Multi-Generational Multi-Racially MixedFGM-Mixed : First Generation Multiracially-Mixed
Related Links:
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Based on the data you have posted on this topic --
I thought that you might also enjoy
reading (and, perhaps, even sharing) the following information .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .
Listed below are links to data on the Historical MYTH
of a Color-Based / ****-Role HIERARCHY — as well
as the Urban LEGEND of Paper-Bag, Blue-Vein and
Other Allegations of Features-Based Entry ‘TESTS’
(in regards to the antebellum-era, continental U.S.):
...THE FACTS are as follows: 1)It is often a surprise
for people to learn that, in reality,there is actually No Such Thing As a "Light Skinned Black"person.
2)Very few people seem to be aware of the
fact thatthe
term "Light Skinned Black"isreallynothing more
than a racist oxymoron createdby Racial
Supremacists in an effortto forciblydeny those Mixed-Race individuals, who are of a Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed (MGM-Mixed) lineage, the right tofully embrace and
to also received public support in choosing to acknowledge the truth regardingtheir full ancestral heritage and lineage.
3)The people who have been slapped with the
false label and oxymoronic misnomer of "Light
Skinned Black"personaresimply Mixed-Race individuals-- who are from
families that have been CONTINUALLYMixed-RaceTHROUGHOUTmultiple generations.
4)Seeing that every other Mixed-Race group
is allowed the dignity of receiving support in having itself referred to by the
term that it most prefers – the question becomes“Why should the situation be any different for those Mixed-Race individuals who are of an Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed (MGM-Mixed) lineage?”.
5)If an MGM-Mixed individual would like to
be referred to by the term ‘Mixed-Race’ (which is what they actually are) rather
than by that of “Light-Skinned Black“(a term, which, once again, has the racist-origin of being nothing more than an
oxymoronic-phrase that was both created and coined by Racial Supremacists in an
effort to try to deny these Mixed-Race people their right to and
support in publicly acknowledging and also embracing their
FULL-Lineage) there is no reason that they(like
every other group on the planet -- whether Mixed-Race or not)should
not be allowed the right to choose the term that society uses in referring to them (andto have their full-lineage acknowledgedwithin that
term).
