Racism affects almost every aspect of people's daily lives.
Lighter skin tones are seen as preferable in many countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Research has uncovered extensive evidence of discrimination based on skin colour in criminal justice, business, the economy, housing, health care, media, and politics in the United States and Europe. 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. Ĭolourism focuses on how racism has manifested itself in the psychology of a people, and how it affects their concept of beauty, wealth, and privilege. Although less historically significant, prejudice can also be applied towards lighter-skinned people, which is known as reverse colourism.
Discrimination based on skin color, also known as colourism, or shadeism, is a form of prejudice and discrimination in which people of certain ethnic groups or people who are perceived as belonging to a darker skinned race are treated differently based on their darker skin color.