I had a very negative reaction to the opening pages of The Blacker the Berry in that the depiction of self-hate was so vivid. Emma Lou’s own as well as her grandmother Maria Lightfoot’s self-hate for traits that mark them as having Black heritage reminds me of the internalized homophobia that queer people experience.

Emma Lou’s mother and uncle both do not marry “mulatto” people, and in Maria Lightfoot’s mind, “Joe’s wife was not as undesirable as Emma Lou’s father, for she was almost three-quarters Indian, and there was scant possibility that her children would have revolting dark skins, thick lips, spreading nostrils, and kinky hair” (30). The fiercely subjective language used to describe Black phenotypes, especially the word “revolting,” show a viscerally negative reaction in Maria toward some typical features of her Black ancestors. Like internalized homophobia, this internalized racism stems purely from society’s arbitrary norms about what is attractive and socially acceptable, such as straight hair, lighter skins, thin lips, and small noses. Because society devalues non-white physical attributes, this person of color herself believes that “whiter” looking people of color are superior, and she passes this anti-Black notion on to her granddaughter.

Also, I just wanted to note that Maria’s last name surely has some kind of connection to her preference for those whose bodies are lighter; I wonder what the significance of a lighter-colored foot might mean? Figuratively more carefree because of white privilege perhaps?