Sociology 102

Sociology 102

Grand Canyon University

October 30, 2010

The phrase color line was originally used as a reference to the racial segregation that existed in the United States after the abolishment of slavery. The phrase gained fame after W. E. B. Du Bois’ repeated use of it in his book The Souls of Black Folk.

What was the color line?  It was the line that reserved the best jobs in the economy for one group of people, while denying them to another through both the law and private institutions such as businesses and, to its discredit, many unions who refused membership and jobs to those on the wrong side of the color line.  And it is the same color line that would refuse jobs to those on one side of "citizenship" and the border.

The word race is a powerful, destructive, emotional, hate word whose meaning is sub-human to all people of color, and it is an insult. It has led to worldwide  black discrimination, as well as racial discrimination against other non-White people. It destroys dreams, Souls, love, self-esteem, self-confidence, personal relationships,  and trust.  It has prevented or destroyed marriage between people of different cultures. It has separated husband and wife, it separated children from mothers and fathers.  It has many of us walking in this world by sight instead of by faith where all we can see is the color of each others skin instead of our character. ? It is responsible for all of the racially motivated hatred, hate crimes and racial discrimination ever committed.  It has killed thousands upon thousands of people here in America, and millions worldwide.

One hundred years ago, the celebrated African-American intellectual, W.E.B. DuBois, famously identified the problem of the 20th century as "the problem of the color line." America has come a long way since DuBois made his prophecy, and the politics of race have undergone dramatic change. So what - a century later - are the new challenges faced by black Americans?

It is important to note...