Skin colour is one of the most obvious markers of difference among people and has long been a topic of much controversy and discussion in many societies around the world. The variation in skin colour is simply a result of different amounts of the pigment melanin in the skin. One’s genes determine the amount of melanin one has. Also, variation in how genes are expressed can result in many different skin tones within a single family. I, for example, was the ‘brownie’ of my family, having much darker skin than my siblings.
Taking advantage of differences among each other has always been done, especially when groups of people compete for resources and power. Using skin colour to subjugate however, and creating entire ideologies and social systems based on this superficial difference has its specific origins in the