African Americans varied widely in appearance, free people of color in New Orleans and the Deep South tended to be light-skinned due to generations of intermarriage with people of European ancestry. After the United States negotiated the Louisiana Purchase, more Americans settled in New Orleans, bringing with them their binary approach to society, in which each person was classified only as black or white. They began to curtail the privileges of Creoles of color. See also Black is beautiful Colorism Good hair (phrase) High yellow Louisiana Creole people Mulatto Octoroon One-drop rule Passing (racial identity) Pencil test (South Africa) Quadroon School Daze References Further reading External links The Paper Bag Test, an editorial by Bill Maxwell about blacks discriminating against blacks, St. Petersburg Times, August 31, 2003, discusses the history of the test. Skin-Deep Discrimination, ABC News, March 4, 2005 African-American cultural history Discrimination based on skin color History of racism in the United States