Raqel conveyed disdain at my mention of the infamous “o-word.”
She didn’t like it because of its green connotation.
She didn’t think that “olive” should ever reflect anyone’s skin, with the exception, perhaps, of Frankenstein’s monster.
But that term sprang from the essential primary color, yellow which made up the secondary color, green.
Yes, yes, yes. This yellow was what everyone was responding to. This yellow in the skin tone produced some form of radiance, some warm glow.
This skin tone was in direct contrast to the fair “cooler” complexions surrounding me in my hometown.
In skin terms, I was warm, they were cool.
So, I started researching this high yellow history.
“High yellow... is a term used to describe persons classified as black... despite having primarily white European ancestry. It is a color reference to the golden skin tone of some mixed-race people... ‘High’ is usually considered a reference to a social class system in which skin color (and associated ancestries) is a major factor, placing those of lighter skin (with more European ancestry) at the top and those of darker skin at the bottom. High yellows, while still considered part of the African-American ethnic group, were thought to gain privileges because of their skin and ancestry. ‘Yellow’ is in reference to the usually very pale yellow undertone to the skin color of members of this group, often due to mixture with Europeans...”
…“Appearances, she knew now, had a way sometimes of not fitting facts...”
“Passing” by Nella Larsen
I read Nella Larsen’s novel and, again, was struck by the possible implications those fictitious characters could have pertaining to my very real family history.
“‘You’d be surprised...how much easier that it is with white people than with us. Maybe because there are so many more of them, or maybe because they are secure and so don’t have to bother...’”
