Topic: Azalea Banks

1 chapters across the catalog

09: One Drop
• 46:19 - 51:42

09: One Drop

South African Pencil Test and Institutional Racism

In addition to the paper bag test in America, South Africa utilized the "pencil test" to determine racial classification based on hair texture. If a pencil stayed in a person's hair, they failed the test for whiteness. These practices are cited as examples of institutional racism that occurred even within all-black spaces, such as Fisk University in 1972, where wealth could sometimes bypass color requirements.