The Shade of a Criminal Record: Colorist, Incarceration, and External Racial Classification

Source Publication (e.g., journal title)

Socius

Authors

Steven L. Foy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen
Victor Ray, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Ashley Hummel, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2017

DOI

10.1177/23780231116689567

Abstract

Recent high-profile research suggests that social indicators like incarceration influence racial categorization. Yet, this research has largely ignored colorism—intraracial differences in skin tone that matter for stratification outcomes. In two experiments, we address how skin tone interacts with criminal background to produce external racial classification and skin tone attributions. We find no evidence that criminal history affects external racial classification or skin tone attribution. However, we find that skin tone is a strong and consistent predictor of external racial classification and skin tone attribution.

Comments

This article was published openly thanks to the University of Tennessee Open Publishing Support Fund.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Foy, Steven L., Victor Ray, Ashley Hummel, “The Shade of a Criminal Record: Colorist, Incarceration, and External Racial Classification,” Socius 3 (2017). doi: 10.1177/2378023116689567

Submission Type

Publisher's Version