Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Education High Yellow

Ron,
You obviously didn't take the time to read about the term "High Yellow" before you mistakenly called it a racial epithet. I assume Rick did read the article, and now has knowledge of the term, and more importantly, it's context.

That's education. Which was the point of the thread in the first place. Only by examining the historical roots of American racialism can we understand its impact on people, and better understand the point of view of people like Rev Wright.

I hope Rick, along with everyone else including you and me, learn as much as we can about the history of America beyond that which we eye-witness or is fed to us by popular culture.

I believe that the term is/was traditionally applied to persons of one-eighth or less black African ancestry.

Other terms for black-white racial composition - of French Creole origin, IIRC - are mulatto (half), quadroon (one fourth) and octaroon (one eighth).

At the height of the old white-supremacy regime in South Africa, I seem to remember that there were some thirty-two (32) racial groupings of people based on their ancestry.

Actually,it was used based on appearance.
"High yellow, occasionally simply yellow (dialect: yaller, yeller), is a term for very light-skinned African-Americans and is a reference to the golden yellow skin tone of some mixed-race people."

Pigmentation gradations (along with facial characteristics like nose shape and lip size) have had an insidious and evil effect on and within Black culture which abides.

The wrongs and degradations which Blacks in America deal with throughout their lives, in every aspect of their lives, are not well understood (that is a gross understatement) by the rest of us.

Toots, I did read the source article; however, based on some personal recollections of its use, I still consider the term to be a racial epithet. But I recognize that others may not agree.

While it does indeed describe a very light-skinned person of some degree of black African ancestry, I personally regard the term as falling in the same group as nigger, jig, jigaboo, spade, jungle-bunny, spear-chucker, etc.

Now, that does not mean that the word cannot/should not be used if it can be used properly to make a point; I have on several occasions - at this and other forums - used the term nigger in a non-racist manner.

I know of some interesting racial terminology used by American Indians to describe other peoples, and it is quite epithetical. In fact, historically, racial and ethnic comments are ubiquitous and have been used at the highest levels of interpersonal and official contact.

You may personally regard the term any way you like. I dislike the fact that all these terms ever existed. The whole point, of course, is that many Americans would like to pretend they don't exist, and pretend that the underlying realities, history, and existence of the forces and actions of the society that invented them disappeared when people stopped using the terms in public.

I refer to the faux outrage in reaction to the notorious Rev. Wright, of course. Some have called it a teachable moment. My efforts in that regard have been only partially successful, I can see.

if this peculiar looking fellow had lived in my neighborhood, i believe to the point of certainty that those whose ear i held would've heard far more colorful language of description assigned. he'd've been beggin' us to call him the... thing that rhymes with chigger but is spelt differnt.

To tell the truth, I don't even know why y'all are talking about this. I've heard it and much more but it's all racist. That's fact. Black people, Italian people, Native American people, Puerto Rican people, Vietnamese people and the rest in America should determine how they are to be called and the rest of us should respect it.

If I'm down home and someone calls me a redneck there's different connotation than there would be if someone called me a redneck in Oakland. Much of it has to do with the "caller" and the location. If a guy from Oakland calls me a redneck while we are both in a bar in Macon, Georgia, that's a completely different situation.

I'm 100% Irish. Both families are from Ireland. I was born and raised in Georgia, which was a penal colony that was established by King George. Many of the families from Georgia are from the original Irish prisoners who established Georgia. Ain't no feckin way I'd sit in a bar in Southie (Boston) and call anyone "Paddy". LOL! Never happen. Place matters.

High yellow and a lot of other terms are offensive to African Americans. Why bring it up? It serves no purpose.

off topic: georgia, in my (considerable) experience, is full of a certain letter what comes before B... holes.

I'm curious about one racial epithet, how did "white" people become crackers? Does anyone know the origin of that? I've always wondered about that one...

the way it was splained to me (in georgia) is white folks are the color of soda crackers (saltines).