How Skin Tone Determines Black Gothic Experiences

 Trinity Samuel

Ms. Harris

ENGL 2016

November 17, 2022

    Black people have been killed, raped, worked to the point of death/exhaustion, starved dehydrated, whipped…etc. all because the color of their skin (this is represented by the skull and whip). Yet, there are many Black people of lighter skin tones that can actually pass for white people. This leaves them with a choice: suffer the injustices of being Black or pretend to be white to make life easier.

    This graphic is a physical representation of how the Black Gothic is unequally experienced based on skin color. White people are shielded by the sun; thus, they do not experience any part of the storm or crashing waves (The Black Gothic). Yet, the darker people are fighting against the waves and heavy rain; meanwhile, the lighter people are held out of the waves’ reach and not experiencing much of the angry storm. The house represents how during times of slavery, lighter people (mainly women) were considered more feminine—prettier—thus, they were usually house slaves or married off to white people as wenches. The house, piece of paper, and money represent how lighter people had more opportunities to become successful in life—especially if society believed they were white.

A great example is Robert from Homegoing; Robert was born a Black man, yet, Willie quickly observed that he “was the color of cream” (Gyasi 184). Willie and Robert fell in love, had a child, and moved to Harlem. Robert began having trouble finding work when he classified himself as a Black man. Yet, when he secretly began living as a white man, he was able to find a well-paying job, bring home money for Willie and Sonny, and go anywhere he pleased without the looks of disgust, discrimination, and the constant disappointment that Willie endured. The hand and the brown bag represent how darker skin people (like Willie) were reduced to living subpar lifestyles because white people did not want to be amongst them.

    Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry from Passing are also great examples. Both of these women were light enough to pass. However, Irene only passed when it was necessary, while Clare built a life as a “white” woman. Clare had a perfect life, but she felt incomplete because she completely abandoned her roots. Therefore, she constantly wondered how her life would have been if she were part of the Black community (hence the question mark). Irene on the other hand, was always on guard while she was around Clare, and while she was using her skin color to her advantage (the eyes represent this). For instance, Irene was terrified when she thought she had been found out by Clare; panicked she thought “could that woman, somehow know that here before her very eyes…sat a Negro?” (Larsen 34). This demonstrates how, no matter what tone of Black someone is, the ghosts of slavery and outright discrimination/racism of the past—and present—still haunt them (thus, the ghosts). 

Works Cited

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

Larsen, Nella. Passing. New York: Vigo Books, 1929.


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