Can You Pass the Brown Paper Bag Test?
I cannot
Whether or not you could pass the brown paper bag test may determine your socioeconomic status in life. Grab a paper bag and place it next to your arm. Are you lighter or darker than the paper bag? If your skin is lighter than the paper bag, you are more likely to be accepted into the upper echelons of society. If your skin is darker than the bag, you will most likely be at the bottom of the socioeconomic order.
“The test was once a notable example of a once-common form of prejudice. Access to social events, jobs, clubs, and schools was often determined by a person’s complexion. According to Georgetown sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson, “New Orleans invented the brown paper bag party — usually at a gathering in a home — where anyone darker than the bag attached to the door was denied entrance” (Mernin, 2018).
In New Orleans, light-skinned people were described as red, yellow, high-yellow; dark-skinned people are described as dark, black, or midnight. Colors were used as nicknames. Black women are cat-called using these terms. When society considers the value of a black woman, skin pigment is a significant variable.
