Describing Brown/Black Skin in Your Writing
Ok, as a black guy who loves to read, loves to write, and has both cringed and smiled at descriptions of skin colors, here’s a rule of thumb: trees are safe, foods are risky. Using chocolate, cinnamon, or other assorted spices to describe brown and black skin has a racist connotation because those very spices fueled the slave trade. Yep. Sucks, I know. Imagine being there.
Trees are neutral most of the time. Maple, teak, mahogany, these are safe to use, I believe. Keep it short and simple, and try using another descriptor in the scene to describe skin color so it’s subtle but explicit. “Sunlight glinted golden off her teak-colored skin…” etc.
Few exceptions: don’t use “sand”, because there’s a racial slur that has the word sand in it and I would just advise against that. You can use “earthy” as an adverb, like “earthy brown skin.” That also implies the person’s skin tone is rich, and tone and color are two different things. “Honey” is an exception to the food rule, since it’s used to describe eye and hair color as well, regardless of race. Don’t use “brown sugar” or “Hershey’s chocolate goddess” because idk why but it just sounds nasty. Like literally only black people can use that term, and not even all black people, just India.Arie and my dad when he and my mom are sweet-talking.
So there you have it. And if you’re not sure about a descriptor, ask someone who is actually black.
