Interaracial Prejudice

Intraracial Prejudice

Intraracial prejudice is prejudging within your own race. Intraracial prejudice has been practiced for centuries even before the civil war. In "The Wife of His Youth" written by Charles Chesnutt, intraracial prejudice played a major part in the short story. A young man named Mr. Ryder was a lighter, fair skinned man was associated with a group called the "Blue Vein" group. The Blue Vein group did not have specific requirements for admission to their group, but on the contrary most of their members were of lighter, fair skinned tone.

Mr. Ryder in this short story was not the average African-American during that time. He was an educated man who was able to repeat whole pages of the great English poets. Mr. Ryder was an economical man who owned his own home on a respectable street. Why was Mr. Ryder such a successful man to society? It was because he wasn't your typical African-American who in his former years was just a slave. As quoted in the short story, "When such critics had succeeded in getting on the inside, they had been heard to maintain with zeal and earnestness that the society was a life boat, an anchor, a bulwark and a shield - a pillar of cloud by day and a fire by night to guide their people through the wilderness." Basically this quote talked about how the Blue Vein group took them away from being noticed as just the typical African American and more so to someone better than just what society saw African Americans as. The group gave them a sense of prestige to feel about themselves.

However this was intraracial prejudice in itself by separating themselves from other darker-toned African Americans in order to better their lives. On the other hand, the people involved in the group could only go so far, for the simple fact that regardless of how fair the tone of their skin was, they were still African Americans. Despite the members being in the prestigious Blue Vein group, Mr. Ryder still remained moral rather than go about what society wanted to see. Instead he was able to follow his heart.

Mr. Ryder had an opportunity to have a picture perfect wife named Ms. Dixon. Ms. Dixon possessed many attractive qualities. For instance she was very good-looking and not over twenty-five, she was more accepted by society and had taught in schools in the city. As opposed