Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993 TAG: 9303140214
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by LENI ASHMORE SORENSEN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
AIRING PREJUDICE'S DIRTY LINEN
The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans. By Karty Russell, Midge Wilson, Ronald Hall. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. $21.95."Light, bright and damned near white" and "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" are two phrases that illustrate the color tensions within the black community. These tensions have long-standing historical truths.
Authors Russell, Wilson and Hall have "aired some dirty linen" that many blacks are resistant to discussing, and many whites are totally unaware of. The hostilities about color in the black community are divisive and wounding, often playing into the ignorance of whites when it comes to jobs and social interaction.
This slim volume goes a long way to introducing the issue in a fair and open way. Though the authors begin with the American past, I wish they had included a historian on their team. The opening two chapters would have been stronger with more documentation and less reliance on secondary sources and fiction for the underpinnings of their argument. Even when fiction is well researched and beautifully written, it is still fiction and may include story elements that are not strictly historically accurate.
The remaining chapters are primarily concerned with modern effects of color conflicts in the black community: interracial relationships, hair, the difficulties of being either very fair-skinned or very dark-skinned, color harassment in the workplace and the media presentations of color.
Solid social science research and good use of anecdotal material make these chapters a pleasure to read. Given the many hues of skin color within the black community and the very real concerns about racism in America, this book is a valuable tool for opening dialogue among students, professionals, parents and children.
Leni Ashmore Sorensen is a graduate of Mary Baldwin's Adult Degree program.