Washington University Global Studies Law Review Volume 14 Issue 4 Global Perspectives on Colorism (Symposium Edition) 2015 To Be White, Black, or Brown? South Asian Americans and the Race-Color Distinction Vinay Harpalani Savannah Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies Part of the Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, International Law Commons, and the Law and Race Commons Recommended Citation Vinay Harpalani, To Be White, Black, or Brown? South Asian Americans and the Race-Color Distinction, 14 WASH. U. GLOBAL STUD. L. REV. 609 (2015), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol14/iss4/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Global Studies Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. TO BE WHITE, BLACK, OR BROWN? SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS AND THE RACE-COLOR DISTINCTION VINAY HARPALANI 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 Associate Professor of Law, Savannah Law School.