To be white, black, or brown? South Asian Americans and the race-color distinction. (Global Perspectives on Colorism)

• Published date: 22 December 2015
• Author: Harpalani, Vinay
• Date: 22 December 2015

INTRODUCTION: COLORING RACE

People often use race and color terminology interchangeably in common parlance. When the renowned African American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois stated that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line," (1) he was referring to rampant and overt racism faced by African Americans and non-European peoples all over the world. Within the United States, color terminology often dominates racial discourse due to common use of color-based racial designations such as "Black" and "White." Color is thus often used as a synonym for race, (2) but while the two do overlap, color is also distinct from race as colorism is from racism. (3)

The relationship between race and color is complex: the two are intertwined, and it can be difficult to tease apart. However, one group that illuminates the distinction between the two is South Asian Americans--peoples in the United States whose ancestry derives from the Indian subcontinent. (4) South Asian Americans are a group that does not fit neatly within the dominant racial categories of Black and White and have a racially ambiguous identity within the United States. (5) This is partly because of the large variety of skin tones within the group. Because South Asian Americans have been classified in various racial categories and vary significantly in skin tone, their experiences can uniquely relay how race is related to color.

Recent events in the media illustrate South Asian American racial ambiguity and color variation. For example, in February 2015, the experiences of South Asian Americans gave new meaning to Michael Jackson's song, "Black or White." (6) First, Louisiana Governor and 2016 Presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal quipped, "You mean I'm not White?" when asked about a commissioned portrait that depicted him with lightened skin tone. (7) Jindal blamed the criticism of his lightened image on the liberals' obsession with race describing the controversy as "silly" and calling for "the end of race in America." (8) Just one week later in Madison, Alabama, police officers beat and severely injured Sureshbhai Patel-a fifty-seven-year-old immigrant grandfather who had only been in the United States for one week-after a suspicious caller identified him as "a skinny Black guy." (9) These two incidents show that in different contexts, South Asian Americans can be viewed as "Black" or "White." Other color labels, such as "Brown," are also sometimes used for South Asian Americans. (10) Contrary to Michael Jackson's lyrics; (11) however, it does matter how South Asian Americans are labeled--or how we choose to label ourselves.

Such contrasting racial identities are not new for South Asian Americans. Elsewhere, I have written in depth about South Asian American racial ambiguity both in my personal experience, (12) and more broadly as part of the history of racial classification in America. (13) Building on my recent presentation at the very successful and enlightening Global Perspectives on Colorism conference at Washington University in St. Louis, (14) this essay focuses specifically on the role of color in delineating South Asian American racial identities. Race and racism are extremely complex phenomena, and skin color and colorism are only one aspect of racial hierarchy and racialization. (15) Nevertheless, color is the most common visual feature and symbol associated with race, and the relationship between the two is revealing-particularly for a group such as South Asian Americans. As noted earlier, South Asian Americans possess a wide range of skin tones, but due to our ambiguous positions in America's racial landscape--a venue defined largely by the Black-White paradigm--our experiences complicate the link between race and color in interesting ways. This essay explores how color intersects with other factors--including both local and national politics--to determine the racial characterization of South Asian Americans.

First, Part I briefly examines the relationship between race and color more generally, and asserts that skin color is the primary physical feature associated with race. In many cases, color has become a metaphor for race, but race is a social and political status that involves many dimensions beyond color. Traditionally, racial status has been associated with ancestry, but it has evolved to incorporate many other components often based on stereotypes and other forms of status. This essay further argues that individual actors can make claims to racial statuses, or can have those statuses ascribed on to them by others, (16) and that skin color-or in the case of Jindal's portrait, presentation of one's skin color-is a part of this process. Color is thus an important component of the social construction of race, but it is by no means solely or even primarily determinative of race. Rather, social and political factors related to the situation and/or local environment play a large role. (17)

Second, Part II analyzes the role of skin color in the characterization of South Asian Americans as "White." It takes a historical approach, starting with the racial prerequisite cases--where Whiteness was a legal status necessary for naturalization as a U.S. citizen--and proceeding up to Bobby Jindal's recent comment and the notion of "honorary Whiteness." (18) This Part examines both claims and ascriptions with respect to Whiteness, highlighting how skin color has usually not been the determining factor in whether South Asian Americans were considered to be "White."

Third, Part III considers skin color in relation to the characterization of South Asian Americans as "Black." Ascriptions of Blackness onto South Asian Americans can result from misidentification, which may have been the case in the aforementioned incident involving Sureshbhai Patel. Such ascriptions can also serve to denigrate South Asian Americans as the "other"--through association with Black people. This Part examines the role of skin color in such ascriptions, and also in claims to Blackness by South Asian Americans. Although the latter are far less common than claims to Whiteness or ascriptions of Blackness, this Part highlights a recent example: the revelation by Vijay Chokal-Ingam--the relatively dark-skinned brother of Indian-American actress and comedian Mindy Kaling (19)--that he pretended to be Black on his medical school applications. (20) Similar to Whiteness, this Part concludes that, while skin color can play a role in characterizations of South Asian Americans as Black, other factors are more significant. (21)

Fourth, Part IV considers other color and race-linked identities attributed to South Asian Americans-including "Brown." This Part illustrates that, for all of these identities, there are facets that are much more significant than skin color.

Finally, the Conclusion discusses implications of the above for understanding race and racism, and also colorism as a phenomenon distinction from racism--one of the important aims of the Global Perspectives on Colorism conference. (22)

I. UNDER COLOR OF LAW

From a legal standpoint, race and color are related, but distinct bases for discrimination. The terms "race" and "color" appear only once in the United States Constitution. Neither term is in the text of the Fourteenth Amendment-the source from which most constitutional litigation on race discrimination arises. Rather, it appears in the Fifteenth Amendment, which reads: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." (23) Although the United States Supreme Court has never considered the difference between "race" and "color" in this context, one can infer that the Framers of the Amendment intended the two to have different meanings--otherwise, the rule against surplusage and presumption against redundancy are violated. (24) During its debate on the Fifteenth Amendment, Congress considered several other terms to add to the text. For example, Michigan Senator Jacob Howard offered an amendment to the language to protect voting rights specifically for "persons of African descent." (25) Additionally, Representative John Bingham of Ohio, a radical Republican, wanted to add the terms "nativity," "property," and "creed" to the amendment to expand its protection. (26) The "nativity" provision would prevent discrimination against naturalized citizens (as opposed to native born citizens). Discussion of the terms "race" and "color" during these debates does not reveal any clear distinction, although one might infer that the Framers thought about "race" largely in terms of ancestry, while "color" might have denoted physical appearance (i.e., visible skin color). (27)

The distinction between "race" and "color" is clearer in the context of Title VII employment discrimination. (28) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Compliance Manual on Title VII contains guidelines, which define race discrimination and color discrimination. (29) Title VII race discrimination includes actions that discriminate on the basis of ancestry, physical characteristics, race-linked illness, culture, perception (i.e., discrimination based on perceived rather than actual race), association (i.e., discrimination based on having interracial marriage, friendship, etc.), "race plus" (i.e., specific discrimination against a particular racial subgroup, such as Black women with children), and "reverse" racial discrimination (i.e., discrimination against White persons). (30) Color discrimination under Title VII is more narrowly defined as discrimination on the basis of "lightness, darkness, or other color characteristic of the person." (31) The Compliance Manual also notes that "[e]ven though race and color clearly overlap, they are not synonymous ... color discrimination can occur between persons of different races or ethnicities, or between persons of the same race...