158:, Du Bois used the phrase in his introduction, titled "The Forethought", writing: "This meaning is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of color line". The phrase occurs again in the book's second essay, "Of the Dawn of Freedom", at both its beginning and its end. At the outset of the essay, Du Bois writes: "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line—the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea". At the end of the essay, Du Bois truncates his statement to: "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line", the more frequently quoted version of the sentiment.
265:, a documentary series that looked at communities of African Americans in four areas of the United States. The phrase's current use in modern journalism reflects a continued use of the phrase even through the legalized segregation that continued after the abolition of slavery. It reflects a dual meaning of the phrase; one aspect of which reflects a color line created by the law, and the other of which reflects the de facto disparity between life for African Americans in the United States and life for other citizens. The term was also popularized during the emergence of
206:
quotations are of note because they reflect an expansion of Du Bois’ original definition of the color-line to include discrimination beyond that of color discrimination, Du Bois also pared down his definition to acknowledge that the "problem of the color-line" as he initially imagined it existed in the United States and did not manifest itself identically across the world. Though discrimination existed everywhere, Du Bois expanded his mindset to include discrimination beyond that of simply black versus white.
227:, centered her keynote address to the National Conference of Researchers of English on this sentence, saying: "Perhaps while sitting in his den or maybe in the midst of academic clutter at his university office, Du Bois penned the epic words that will center my reflections in this essay – 'The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.'"
169:. The first reference draws the reader in with a direct reference, while the second goes so far as to identify all of the areas in the world where Du Bois believed the color-line was "the problem of the twentieth century". All imply, whether directly or passively, that the color-line extends outside the bounds of the United States.
149:
Du Bois goes on to illustrate this by discussing various social contexts in which the black
American is faced with social dilemmas as to whether or not to enter white-dominated spaces: to not enter is to be "blamed for indifference", but to do so means "he is liable to have his feelings hurt and get into unpleasant altercation".
201:
United States was no longer in my mind a separate and unique thing as I had so long conceived it. It was not even solely a matter of color and physical and racial characteristics, which was particularly a hard thing for me to learn, since for a lifetime the color line had been a real and efficient cause of misery.
230:
It is important to note that in much of the general usage of the quote, the "problem of the color-line" is implied as only a problem in the United States. However, in Du Bois’ initial writing, he extended the problem across much of the world to "Asia", "Africa", and "the islands of the sea". Du Bois’
218:
uses the phrase in his autobiography, writing: "In
Cleveland, a liberal city, the color-line began to be drawn tighter and tighter. Theaters and restaurants in the downtown area began to refuse to accommodate colored people. Landlords doubled and tripled their rent at the approach of a dark tenant."
148:
when discussing social interactions between the black and white inhabitants of
Philadelphia. 'In all walks of life the Negro is liable to meet some objection to his presence or some discourteous treatment; and the ties of friendship or memory seldom are strong enough to hold across the color line.'
116:
Early usage includes an 1871 address as part of an anniversary celebration of the New
England Society. At that event General Horace Porter referred to the color line as being the result of being in battle alongside black troops in Virginia which his audience found humorous. The term occurs several
200:
The result of these three visits, and particularly of my view of the Warsaw ghetto, was not so much clearer understanding of the Jewish problem in the world as it was a real and complete understanding of the Negro problem. In the first place, the problem of slavery, emancipation and caste in the
205:
He goes on to write: "No, the race problem in which I was interested cut across lines of color and physique and belief and status and was a matter of cultural patterns, perverted teaching and human hate and prejudice, which reached all sorts of people and caused endless evil to all men." These
231:
thought in "Of the Dawn of
Freedom" implied a universal exclusivity, of "color" as the greatest problem of the 20th century. The general use of the term the "color-line" however, is usually in reference to the United States, a possibility Du Bois did not acknowledge in his initial essays.
165:, as within a very short amount of text Du Bois provides the reader with three incarnations of the thought. Some of the difference may be the result of the original serialization of the work, as parts of this book were originally serialized, many in
191:
and his changing attitude toward his phrase "the color-line". In the short essay, entitled "The Negro and the Warsaw Ghetto", Du Bois wrote about his three trips to Poland, particularly his third in 1949, during which he viewed the remains of the
133:
in London in July 1900, the delegates adopted an "Address to the
Nations of the World", drafted by Du Bois and to which he was a signatory, that contained the sentence: "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the colour-line".
878:
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described a "color line" running between two candidates for governor. Most uses of the term in the 1870s were in newspapers from former slave states and dealt with elections. A search of
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famously said, "It seemed that everyone had to go to “Azusa.” ... There were far more white people than colored coming. The “color line” was washed away in the blood."
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in the same state identified the policy of the
Democrats as "the color line policy." In 1881 Frederick Douglass published an article with that title in the
17:
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It is difficult to find an exact origin of the phrase "the color line." However, the phrase appeared frequently in newspapers during the
543:
250:
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times in testimony during a United States Senate inquiry into the
Mississippi election of 1875. J.W. Lee, previously Mayor of
105:
with specific reference to divisions between blacks and whites. For example, the July 7, 1869, issue of the
Richmond Virginia
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Both the quote and the phrase can be found in numerous texts of the 20th century, both academic and non-academic alike.
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129:. He likened the color line to a disease of morality and gives seven propositions against it. At the
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Anniversary
Celebration of the New England Society in the City of New York. 66th-71st 1871-1876.
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Holloway, Karla F. C. "Cultural Politics in the Academic Community: Masking the Color Line",
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273:– held in Los Angeles from 1906 to 1909, the journalist, observer, and early adherent
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The phrase circulates in modern vernacular as well as literary theory. For example,
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indicates the phrase appeared in newspapers with increasing frequency from 1873 on.
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Congressional Serial Set. (1876). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office
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African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement
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The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America
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entitled "The Problem of the Color Line," about the continuing plague of
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Ample nuance exists among the three versions of Du Bois’ prediction in
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The Color Line. Les artistes africains-americains et la segregation
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Du Bois introduces the concept of the color line in his 1899 work
253:. The phrase does not only find use in the print world, either.
379:, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996, p. 325.
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How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles. Republished as Azusa Street
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as it grew in North America. During a religious meeting – the
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428:, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2004, pp. 45–46.
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Many decades later, in 1952, nine years before he moved to
805:
W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award
640:
W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture
392:, New York: New American Library, Inc, 1903, pp. 10, 29.
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The phrase sees current usage as a reference to modern
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African American founding fathers of the United States
57:
that was titled "The Color Line" was published in the
420:
W. E. B. Du Bois, "The Negro and the Warsaw Ghetto,"
359:
Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain
297:. The North American Review. p. 567. Volume 132.
210:Use in 20th-century literature and literary theory
467:Quindlen, Anna. "The Problem of the Color Line".
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187:magazine about his experiences during a trip to
497:. Plainfield, New Jersey: Logos International.
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344:, June 1, 1881, . Accessed February 13, 2020.
219:Closer to the end of the twentieth century,
173:Du Bois’ changing attitude toward the phrase
424:, 1952, reprinted in Phil Zuckerman (ed.),
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334:The Color Line : Douglass, Frederick"
251:racial discrimination in the United States
78:racial discrimination in the United States
41:was originally used as a reference to the
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740:Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil
67:' repeated use of it in his 1903 book
63:in 1881. The phrase gained fame after
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426:The Social Theory of W. E. B. Du Bois
27:Term for racial segregation in the US
572:Atlanta Conference of Negro Problems
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293:Douglass, Frederick (June 1, 1881).
80:and legalized segregation after the
810:W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute
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402:"William Edward Burghardt Du Bois"
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642:(home, burial site, and memorial)
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481:pbs.org/ gates on the Colorline
471:. Newsweek, Inc. March 13, 2000.
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853:W.E.B. Du Bois Clubs of America
748:Black Reconstruction in America
692:The Study of the Negro Problems
582:The Exhibit of American Negroes
577:Atlanta Sociological Laboratory
567:W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite
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411:naacp.org, February 24, 2008.
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259:America Beyond the Color Line
181:, Du Bois wrote an essay for
588:First Pan-African Conference
458:; 55; (1993): 610–617.
223:, a professor of English at
131:First Pan-African Conference
30:For the ferry operator, see
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493:Bartleman, Frank (1980).
338:The North American Review
800:W. E. B. Du Bois Library
708:The Souls of Black Folk
634:Fisk University protest
390:The Souls of Black Folk
163:The Souls of Black Folk
155:The Souls of Black Folk
70:The Souls of Black Folk
49:after the abolition of
826:Shirley Graham Du Bois
716:The Negro in the South
700:The Philadelphia Negro
377:The Philadelphia Negro
332:Douglass, Frederick, "
263:Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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145:The Philadelphia Negro
839:Encyclopedia Africana
245:published a piece by
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127:North American Review
119:Aberdeen, Mississippi
86:civil rights movement
60:North American Review
667:Double consciousness
629:Pan-African Congress
271:Azusa Street Revival
167:The Atlantic Monthly
82:abolition of slavery
45:that existed in the
388:Du Bois, W. E. B.,
375:Du Bois, W. E. B.,
221:Karla F.C. Holloway
614:The Brownies' Book
441:(1940). New York:
437:Hughes, Langston.
103:Reconstruction era
55:Frederick Douglass
43:racial segregation
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422:Jewish Life
364:Pluto Press
354:Peter Fryer
184:Jewish Life
834:(daughter)
724:John Brown
662:Color line
606:The Crisis
362:, London:
281:References
39:color line
775:The Comet
732:The Negro
624:newspaper
37:The term
873:Category
777:" (1920)
650:Concepts
616:magazine
608:magazine
469:Newsweek
405:Archived
242:Newsweek
107:Dispatch
84:and the
819:Related
767:Fiction
622:Freedom
445:, 1993.
97:Origins
92:History
51:slavery
793:Honors
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590:(1900)
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189:Poland
599:NAACP
261:with
179:Ghana
560:Life
499:ISBN
255:PBS
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