Hi Terrance!
Hope your well.
I’ve been remiss in not listening to your podcast but I shall correct that.

Racism… I’m from the Indian subcontinent. I believe in our region colorism/ racism predate western colonialism.

Dark skin was associated with lower castes in a rigid caste system which of course has existed pretty much in every society throughout history in one form or another. Muslim Pakistan has its own version of a caste system.

I noticed in my travels that lighter skin color got the attention and respect, for lack of a better word, from Sri Lanka to UAE and beyond.

I’m the runt of the litter and of a much darker skin tone than my siblings. And I was made aware of it at every opportunity by aristocratic relatives. My marriage prospects were not rosy I was told!
When I lived for a bit in Sri Lanka I was considered a beauty when I visited a village — they thought I was a Bollywood actress, mostly because of my red lipstick, dark glasses and ‘fairer’ skin tone! All things are relative…
In London I had my brushes with skinheads, go home you dirty Pakki!
In Washington DC yes, that cosmopolitan mecca where homogeneity allegedly reigns supreme, I’ve encountered awful racism in suburbia. Never mind the city itself where the black community is clearly discriminated against. And brutalized.
Western ‘civilization’ for me is a broken dream.