Color (Sub)Conscious: African American Women, Authors, and the Color Line in Their Literature

• Main Author: Eley, Dikeita N.
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2004
• Subjects: text analysis; community; Toni Morrison; Maya Angelou; Alice Walker; Gloria Naylor; color line; colorism; racism; women; African-American; self-esteem; self-concept; complexion; Arts and Humanities; English Language and Literature
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1486; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2485&context=etd

Color (sub)Conscious explores the African American female's experience with colorism. Divided into three distinct sections. The first section is a literary analysis of such works as Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Alice Walker's "If the Present Looks Like the Past, What Does the Future Look Like?" an essay from her collection In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens. The second section is a research project based on data gathered from 12 African American females willing to share their own experiences and insights on colorism. The final section is a creative non-fiction piece of the author's own personal pain growing up and living with the lasting effects of colorism.