After the first African slaves arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, a population of mixed-race blacks emerged. Their masters and fellow slaves celebrated their exotic features – not quite African, but not exactly white. The women were called “fancy girls” and paraded at quadroon balls, events for wealthy white men to meet and mingle with them. Lighter-skinned black men, meanwhile, were dubbed “run ‘round men” because, with their fairer skin, they could supposedly have their pick of any woman in the black community.
Ronald Hall, “Too pretty to play? Stephen Curry and the light-skinned black athlete,” The Conversation, April 30, 2017. http://theconversation.com/too-pretty-to-play-stephen-curry-and-the-light-skinned-black-athlete-76638.
Tags: Ronald E. Hall, Ronald Hall