Light colored blacks...
In the ghetto, they are looked down upon because that means they have some white blood in them...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_yellow
High yellow
High yellow, occasionally simply yellow (dialect: yaller, yeller), is a term for persons classified as black who also have a high proportion of white ancestry.[1] It is a reference to the golden yellow skin tone of some mixed-race people. The term was in common use in the United States at the end of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century. It is often considered offensive.[2] It is reflected in such popular songs of the era as “The Yellow Rose of Texas”.
“High” is usually considered a reference to a social class system in which skin color (and associated ancestries) is a major factor, placing those of lighter skin (with more European ancestry) at the top and those of darker skin at the bottom.[3] High yellows, while still considered part of the African-American ethnic group, were thought to gain privileges because of their skin and ancestry.[4] “Yellow” is in reference to the usually very pale yellow undertone to the skin color of members of this group, often due to admixture with Europeans.[5] Another reading of the etymology of the word “high” is that it is a slang word for “very,” often used in Southern English, therefore “very yellow” (as opposed to brown).
” Squirrelly” is what my cousins calls them!
They’re from the Black side of our family.
We have a few.
When I was a kid in grade school (late 40s) I heard "colored" kids call the lighter skinned ones "High Yallers". In fact, I remember being in the school restroom and hearing "nagger" (thank you South Park) for the first time.** The dialogue was something like "You think you're hot stuff 'cause you got white blood in you but you ain't nuthin' but a common ole "nagger". I thought, boy, someone is in BIG trouble.
**My dad used to be in the merchant marine and worked the African Trade. He had little use for those people and his slur for them was, interestingly, "blacks". My mother was from the South and tell us only white trash used the "nagger" epithet. We got smacked once or twice in our rebellious stage but soon learned to copy my Old Man when we wanted to "dis" one of them.