I can't help wondering if Dr. Seuss was inspired by this satire of racial identity when he wrote The Sneeches, where the plain-bellied and star-bellied speeches fight over who is superior and build machines to add and remove their stars until everyone is all mixed up.

This is much much darker, a biting and well fleshed out spec-fic account of the rippling effects of turning black people white to eliminate "the negro problem." Still very funny, too. Highly recommend this Harlem Renaissance novel/novella.