By Marc W. Polite
Greetings, my readers. With the summer season here, some choose this occasion to read to keep their minds sharp. As an author, I believe that it is important to keep oneself aware of what is occurring around us. There are a number of books about racism and its effects on society. This summer, a book talking about the adjacent bias that is rarely discussed, colorism will become available. Colorism: The Politics of Skin Tone and How We Get Free by Dr. Sarah L. Webb is a forthcoming book about the hierarchy that favors people with lighter skin tones.
Dr. Webb is also the founder of Colorism Healing, a platform she utilizes to talk about the issues around colorism through writing contests and anthology collections. The book is a continuation and broadening of this work.
This book is a scholarly work about colorism, and its effects on people’s lives. Whether it is an understood social hierarchy, or the distribution of who gets and who is denied in society. These are harsh realities that are unpacked quite well, in addition to what can be done to counteract these harmful beliefs.
Going far beyond appearance, Dr. Webb discusses some of the differences that can manifest between people of different shades, and how they are treated as they move through the world.
The points discussed here are not limited by being American-centered. Dr. Webb also discusses how colorism and the color line affects different parts of the world.
Colorism will be available via Amazon on July 6th, 2026. It is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.