A long lasting consequence of the Transatlantic slave trade, colourism has formed a detrimental world view of what beauty looks like, shades of skin ranked from seemingly more desirable than the other, hair and body types scrutinised under the European standard of beauty – something that has sadly caused division within African and Caribbean cultures up until this very day. Making its debut 20 years ago at the turn of the millennium, Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman examines this warped ideology in a powerful two hander that now more than ever, post Black Lives Matter, strongly resonates.
