ood in New York called Sugar Hill. Long ago, only light-skinned Blacks with money, talent, social prominence, and intellectual distinction were allowed to live in this area (26). According to one of the tenants, these requirements presently remain for tenants. This resident suggests that if one is not of mulatto background, then one is not welcome.Creating a separation within the Black community, made it easier for mulattoes to advance in life. Their system of only intermingling with each other provided a means of generating beneficial social connections in business and politics for themselves. This may explain why the majority of prominent Blacks in politics have been light-skinned. This list of Black leaders include W. E. B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglass. In correlating the fact that these men were mulattoes and of great distinction further supports the notion that possessing a degree of mixed ancestry was a definite asset when it came to being considered a voice for the Negro race (32).There are several factors that can explain why some people still have the mentality that being light-skinned is better than being dark-skinned. In a society that is primarily dominated by the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) culture members of minorities with the lightest skin and the most Caucasian-looking features have been allowed the greatest freedom (34). Allowing mulattoes in the past to receive education and money created an elite class of leaders that were mostly of mulatto descent. Even though many dark-skinned Blacks have become very successful, numerous people still believe the Blacks of lighter skin tones are subject to greater opportunities. Light-skinned Blacks are trusted more by White employers (39). Therefore, they are more likely to find jobs and break free of the cycle of poverty and crime (39). The elitist mulattoes benefit not only from their social contacts with other light-skinned Blacks but...
