Throughout the early 1900s, churches, fraternities, sororities, and other organizations used what has come to be known as the brown-paper-bag test to keep in check the upward mobility of people of color, especially Black people. If a Black person’s skin was the same shade or darker than a paper bag, he would not be permitted in certain communities, organizations, and churches. If his skin was lighter than a paper bag, he might get a pass.
