Dark-skinned people living in northern locales are most at risk, as they absorb sunlight more poorly than light-skinned folks.

FORBES: D Is for Debate

Some have also suggested that people from "brown nations" around the world tended to look down upon dark-skinned people.

BBC: Africa: Where black is not really beautiful

But for all the good that perfunctory new security measures at metro stations will do more document checks of dark-skinned people, the occasional sniffer dog they might as well be able to.

ECONOMIST: Death, disappearance and mystery

Well-known Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes recommended this week that dark-skinned people, men with mustaches, women who use shawls, or anyone who does not speak English well should not go to Arizona, because the state has "officially declared itself racist, " the government-run Notimex news service reported Wednesday.

CNN: Latino rights group, others call for Arizona boycott

"He's thoughtful, he's articulate, he's handsome, he doesn't fit any of the stereotypes of the dangerous dark-skinned black male that people see every day on television, " Mr Westen said.

BBC: Is America Ready For A Black President?

Putin did not restrain his skin-head Nashi hooligans, when they targeted dark skinned people on the streets.

FORBES: Putin Wins, Obama Loses in Boston Extremism

Washington (CNN) -- In the hours after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, law enforcement officials were searching for a dark-skinned Middle Eastern man in connection to the attack that killed 168 people, including 19 children.

CNN: Why officials, media wait to declare bombing suspect

That reality permeates every aspect of Mauritanian life from the dark-skinned boys who serve mint-flavored tea at restaurants to the clothes people wear.

CNN: Slavery's last stronghold

The lighter-skinned local people rejected and persecuted them because of their slave origins, their dark skin and wide features.

BBC: Persecuted Bantus begin new life