A study by Darrick Hamilton, assistant professor at Milano, originally published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, was cited in a July 12 Washington Post article  by DeNeen L. Brown titled, “Through the Past, Darkly: The Legacy of Colorism Reflects Wounds of Racism That Are More Than Skin-Deep.”

Beginning with the statement, “Colorism is the crazy aunt in the attic of racism,” Brown explores the meaning behind Michael Jackson’s lightening skin over his lifetime. Dismissing Jackson’s claims that his changing appearance was due to the skin condition vitiligo, she focuses on colorism, a sub-category of racism and prejudice based on skin color as his motivation to seek out skin lightening treatments.

Brown cites Hamilton’s work as evidence that colorism continues to negatively effect individuals, especially in regards to income and marriage. "There is a well-established literature of colorism, a preference for lighter-skinned individuals," says a report called "Shedding 'Light' on Marriage," which was co-written by Hamilton with Arthur H. Goldsmith, a professor at Washington and Lee University and William A. Darity Jr., a professor at Duke University.

In fact, among black women younger than 30, there is "a premium associated with light-skinned complexion," Hamilton says. "We find that the light-skin shade as measured by survey interviewers is associated with about a 15 percent greater probability of marriage for young black women, and light-skin shade as measured by self-reported biracial status is associated with the presence of better educated and higher-earning spouses for married black females."

Darrick Hamilton is an assistant professor at Milano, an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research, an affiliate scholar at the Center for American Progress, and a co-associate director of the American Economic Association Summer Research and Minority Scholarship Program. His work focuses on the causes and consequences of racial and ethnic inequality in economic and health outcomes.