The Blacker the Berry · Question
How does The Blacker the Berry develop the theme of Colorism and Intraracial Prejudice?
Answer
The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman develops Colorism and Intraracial Prejudice across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The central theme of the novel, exploring how dark-skinned Black people, especially women like Emma Lou, face discrimination and rejection from lighter-skinned members of their own community, as seen in her family's 'blue vein circle' and her exclusion from sororities and social circles.
The folk saying 'The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice' directly addresses colorism, implying a hierarchy of skin tones and the value placed on darkness, which is central to the novel's exploration of intraracial prejudice.
Emma Lou's experiences highlight the painful hierarchy based on skin tone within her own family and community.
Emma Lou's internalized shame about her dark skin and the mockery she faces from other Black students at the university exemplify the destructive effects of colorism within the Black community.
Evidence in the book
- Epigraph
The folk saying 'The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice' directly addresses colorism, implying a hierarchy of skin tones and the value placed on darkness, which is central to the novel's exploration of intraracial prejudice.
- The Blacker the Berry
Emma Lou's experiences highlight the painful hierarchy based on skin tone within her own family and community.
- Part I: Emma Lou
Emma Lou's internalized shame about her dark skin and the mockery she faces from other Black students at the university exemplify the destructive effects of colorism within the Black community.
- Part II: Harlem
Emma Lou is acutely aware of her dark skin and faces rejection from lighter-skinned individuals, such as the secretaries at Angus and Brown and the street taunt 'I don't haul no coal.'
- Part III: Alva
The chapter emphasizes color-based discrimination within the Black community, from sorority exclusions to casting preferences in Cabaret Gal.
- Part IV: Rent Party
Emma Lou's extreme color consciousness is highlighted by her reaction to the cabaret song and Alva's accusation that her attitude fuels prejudice.
- Part V: Pyrrhic Victory
Emma Lou's colleagues are lighter-skinned and gossip about her makeup, while she interprets their behavior as color-based rejection, reflecting deep intraracial prejudice.
