People often make the categories of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, and physical condition contend for the title of most oppressed. Within "race," various people groups compete for the "top spot." Through the book, "The Wife of His Youth" by Charles Wadell Chesnutt, one can learn that racism existed within the "race," color mattered, and racism evolves throughout racial history.
             Racism existed within the race. People within the groups competed to be at the top. In The Wife of His Youth, the main character Mr. Ryder is a highly respected man in his society called the Blue Veins. The Blue Veins is a society for the colored people who have white skin that their veins show. Mr. Ryder is faced with a situation where he has to choose to stay at the top by hiding the truth and marrying a highly respected woman in the Blue Veins, Mrs. Molly Dixon, or reveal his secret and be married to a woman who is considered low among the races. However Mr. Ryder chooses to reveal that a former slave is his wife, but in order for him to come to the conclusion, he struggles much about how the others would feel about this situation because most likely people of his society would look down upon him.
             Color matters within the race. In The Wife of His Youth, the Blue Veins is a society that does not emphasize a culture of the race, but how light the color of their skin is. The people of the society must have really light skin to be even considered to be a member of the Blue Veins. The wife of his youth, a former slave, Liza Jane would never be considered to be a member of the Blue Veins because she was very black and her social status in society was of a former plantation worker. One could also see that Mr. Ryder struggles whether or not to reveal his secret to the Blue Veins because color mattered and he did not know if they would be able to accept the fact that he was married to his ugly black woman. In addition, Mr. Ryder had to somehow ...