This study undertook a multi-layered philosophical, scientific, and decolonial investigation into the nature, classification, and epistemological positioning of Blackness both as a physical phenomenon and as a socially constructed identity marker. The central thesis posed that Black, as understood in the dominant Western chromatic tradition, is not a color in the optical-scientific sense, yet has been systematically weaponized as a racial category through colonial knowledge systems that conflate pigmentation, light absorption, and human identity in deeply oppressive ways. Drawing on a mixed-methods theoretical and quantitative framework, the study surveyed 420 participants across academic, community, and professional contexts using validated psychometric instruments designed to measure the Perception of Blackness as Essence (PBE), Coloniality of Color Knowledge (CCK), Epistemic Marginalization Index (EMI), Scientific Literacy Score (SLS), and Decolonial Identity Affirmation (DIA). Univariate analyses revealed that respondents demonstrated moderate-to-high levels of essentialist thinking about Blackness (Mean PBE = 3.84, SD = 0.91), while scientific literacy scores remained comparatively lower (Mean SLS = 3.42, SD = 1.02), suggesting a disconnect between scientific understanding and culturally inherited racial epistemologies. Bivariate Pearson correlation analyses confirmed strong, statistically significant positive associations among coloniality of knowledge, epistemic marginalization, and essentialist perceptions of Blackness, while scientific literacy demonstrated consistent negative correlations with essentialist constructs. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that Coloniality of Color Knowledge exerted a significant total indirect effect on Perception of Blackness as Essence through both epistemic marginalization and decolonial identity affirmation (β = 0.394, p < .001), with the model demonstrating excellent fit indices (CFI = 0.964, RMSEA = 0.048, SRMR = 0.051). The findings affirmed that the epistemological treatment of Black as a racial essence is a colonial artifact sustained by knowledge structures that suppress both scientific literacy and decolonial self-affirmation. The study recommended decolonizing science education curricula, investing in community-based epistemic reclamation programs, and mainstreaming decolonial identity affirmation as an instrument of cognitive and social liberation.