What term describes discrimination based on a person's color characteristics?

The term that specifically describes discrimination based on a person's color characteristics is color discrimination. This form of discrimination focuses on the shade of a person's skin rather than their ethnicity or race as a whole. It emphasizes the bias that can occur within a racial group, where individuals might face prejudice or unequal treatment based on their specific skin tone.

Colorism, while closely related, refers to a preference for lighter skin tones within racial communities, which can also result in discrimination but emphasizes a more nuanced aspect of color discrimination. Racial discrimination and ethnic discrimination cover broader categories of bias based on race or ethnicity but do not specifically target color characteristics. Therefore, color discrimination accurately captures the essence of the question regarding bias that is directly tied to an individual's skin color.