Why are light-skinned Black people called RED or HIGH YELLOW?

Answer 1

Hi...Light-Skinned Black woman here. I've had people call me red, a red-bone & high yellow.
Let me break this down for all of those people who are getting it twisted.
Black people come in all shades. You have those of us who are light skinned, some are almost white in color, some have a caramel color, some have a brown sugar color, some have a dark coal color, some have a dark chocolate color, and the list goes on. Within our Black culture, we find ways to categorize ourselves by the way we look. This may be self defeating or ignorant to some but it happens and I'm just putting it out there.
So a light skinned Black person who has red undertones to their complexion is referred to as Red or a Redbone. A light skinned Black person with yellow undertones is referred to as High Yellow. My mom is light skinned with more yellow undertones which would make her high yellow. My father is light skinned with more red undertones which makes him red. I am a mixture of both. As long as the person that calling me red or high yellow is doing so with affection and not as a slur, it's all good. At the end of the day, Black is simply Black.

Answer 2

Ten times out of twenty they are either mixed with white genes, indian, mexican or sicilian or maybe they just may have a slave owner that is white and this is the color we are portrayed as a red or high yellow individual, because society hasn't come up with a more appropiate name that we can go by. We are a beautiful people whether red or high yellow. YOU THINK!!! By all means we are called everything and anything anyway, whether red, high-yellow or not.. Black people just has be named something other than African-American.

Answer 3

High Yellow

Answer 4

Good question about "high yellow." (I never heard the red thing.) Maybe because some are kind of yellow when they're very light skinned? I don't know. Can't remember ever seeing it.

Answer 5

When speaking of racism this is something that is very seldom discussed. The African-Americans are quite the racist among themselves. I have never heard the term "red" but a "high yellow" refers to a lighter skin color and the person has white ancestory. "High-yellows" considered themselves better than their darker brothers and sisters.
Also, African-Americans refer to a person with "good hair" which is similar to a white person's hair in texture. Families were very careful to marry with persons both having good hair to keep the genes going.
How do I know this. I live in the Metropolitan New Orleans area and have African-American friends.

Answer 6

These terms are common in East Texas and Louisiana. Red or red-boned refers to someone who has red undertones...you can see them turn red, via blushing or during exertion. High yellow refers to someone who has a complexion that is light has yellow undertones. My grandmother and aunts used to call me that little high yalla gal. Among ourselves this descriptive because people in our family range from very dark complexions to very light complexions. Among ourselves (Blacks) , we have many descriptors for complexion, hair, etc. We come in a spectrum of beautiful colors. Zinger, perhaps the people you know had some politics involved with skin color. This is not necessarily the case with all Black people. We call people like you are describing "color struck" and basically think they are insecure. As I said, we have nuclear and extended family that display a vast array of colors, and noone in my family buys into this. However I have come across people who were very nasty when they first met me, assuming I bought into that crap because my complection is light. It can be a trip sometimes.

Answer 7

I've heard of the term "high yellow", but I don't know where it came from or why it's used. It's pretty stupid, huh? I remember Asian people being referred to as "yellow" when I was young (born in 1961), and I never got that either. I think they're both insulting, and I'm white. I just don't get it. To me, we are all people. My mother would never allow any of us to use derogatory terms about anyone, no matter their skin color, and she was right. I don't allow my kids to do that either.

Answer 8

Girl your whole logic is messed up . Black people don't just naturally come in all shades . They have to have a European ancestor to get that color . Go to Africa and tell me when you see a light skinned black person who doesn't have any European ancestry down the line

Answer 9

Their Color,Interbred White/Black..The Race That Will Eventually Become The Majority In The USA ...50 Years..

Answer 10

you haven't heard of it because you aren't black. they are called that because the skin tone of a very light person looks reddish. just like a white person who blushes and turns red. same for high yellow. some light blacks look yellowish. it's not rocket science, people.