High yellow

In post-Civil War South Carolina, and according to one account by historian Edward Ball, "Members of the colored elite were called 'high yellow' for their shade of skin", as well as slang terms meaning snobbish.

[6]In some cases the confusion of color with class came about because some of the lighter-skinned black people came from families of mixed heritage free before the Civil War, who had begun to accumulate education and property.

In addition, some wealthier white planters made an effort to have their "natural sons" (the term for children outside of marriage who were produced with enslaved women) educated or trained as apprentices; some passed on property to them.

[14] In popular print media, Life published a full-page colour reproduction on page 34 of its 1st February 1937 issue of a 1934 painting by Reginald Marsh (artist) as part of an article entitled "Living Art at $5 Per Picture".

[15] The phrase survives in folk songs such as "The Yellow Rose of Texas", which originally referred to Emily West Morgan, a "mulatto" indentured servant apocryphally associated with the Battle of San Jacinto.

Blind Willie McTell's song "Lord, Send Me an Angel" has its protagonist forced to choose among three women, described as "Atlanta yellow", "Macon brown", and a "Statesboro blackskin".

Well'at's tough - Sometimes I feel that I'm not black enough - I'm high yellow, my nose is brown to perfection - And if I was to change it'd be further in that direction - So catch me on the beach, I'll be gettin' a tan - But yo there's no mistake that - Humpty-Hump is from the motherland".

On the 1988 album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm by Joni Mitchell, the song "Dancin' Clown" contains the lyrics "Down the street comes last word Susie, she's high yellow, looking top nice."