W.E.B. Dubois: The Color Line Theory

The color line theory refers to the divide between races, often invisible but sometimes physical. Laws and society prevented African Americans from achieving equality in a post-slavery era and continued to pose a problem to Black identity. As a result of this, DuBois argued Blacks and whites in the United States were separated by a color line. The concept of the color line theory refers to the role of race and racism in history and society, in other words, racial segregation. The “color line” theory was first published by Frederick Douglass in the North American view in 1881. Later DuBois implemented the theory in his book The Souls of Black Folk which gained fame after. The color line theory was instituted and solidified by slavery, yet has survived the Emancipation and taken on its new forms. DuBois believed the concept did more than deny blacks from jobs, education, and opportunity. Also, he believed that the color line weighed so heavily on their souls that it prevented them from achieving their potential as human beings. The color line theory adopted by W.E.B DuBois has evolved since the 1800s from an issue rooted in slavery into a crucial aspect in modern society that explains although there has been more equality in terms of the black-white gap there are still racial disparities between racial and ethnic groups such as African Americans in America. 

The color line gained popularity by sociologist W.E.B DuBois in his 1903 book. Dubois argued that there cannot be real social equality of race relations with the existence of the color line. He believed that the color line was the problem of the twentieth century. In “The Philosophy of the Color Line '', the author John Mecklin describes the color line being the result of the ruling group (whites) making the black community constantly aware of their subordinate status. Connecting Mecklin’s argument, Dubois believed that the changes in America being made were not being inclusive to African Americans. For example, in the Civil Rights era, there was a decrease of lynching yet mob violence was still evident. Although African Americans had established in the courts their legal citizenship and right to be included in the Bill of Rights the institution of “Jim Crow” was still tottering. In the article, “What is Jim Crow Laws & Segregation” the author Gene Jarrett explains how Jim Crow segregation was a distinct way in which the color line enshrined in the law and the custom of the South. Although laws guaranteed black civil rights, the whites created subtle ways and without breaking the law they maintained the African American community subtle in a subordinate position by using the color line. 

It is difficult to find the exact origin of the phrase “the color line”. However, the phrase appeared frequently in the newspapers during the Reconstruction Era. The newspapers used the term in the 1870s and specifically referenced it to the divisions between blacks and whites. Before Dubois, Frederick Douglass defined color prejudice as the inevitable cause of the color line. In The North American Review, Douglass explains, “Slavery is indeed gone, but its shadow still lingers over the country of the republic”. Slavery has come to this prejudice and most importantly the color line.

In the article, “Fighting Slavery on Slaveholder’s Terran”, the author Thavolia Glymph explains, “by 1860, 7% of the total white pop. of the South owned 75% of the slaves”. The presence of the color line helped the slave owners have more slaves to earn more profits while maintaining the slaves' subordinate through unpaid labor. In the article, “We Slipped and Learned to Read '' the author Janet Cornelius shares the experiences of slaves learning to read and write. A slave in Madison County, Georgia explains if caught learning how to read or write slaves were whipped and even have fingers cut off. Through the color line theory, slaves were kept illiterate for them not to rebel against their subordinate condition and yet maintain them at the bottom of the hierarchy as slave owners continue to dominate all power. Slaveholding power rested on the power of the nation-state labor regimes that accompanied the sale or movement of slaves to the and an array of economic institutions. The slave labor system was reliant on black slave labor while white slave owners gained a higher socioeconomic status. Furthermore, in the article, “The Civil Rights Movement and the Right to Vote: Black Protest, Segregationist Violence, and the Audience” author Wayne Santoro explains the Civil Rights movement as a struggle for the right of Southern blacks to vote. African Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles in voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions that denied them the right to vote. Dubois viewed the right to vote (14th &15th amendments) as an advancement to African Americans yet there were still limitations to voting aimed towards African Americans. 

The color line has developed and is still present in modern-day America. African Americans continue to be surrounded by the impeccable color line, defining their political and social life in terms of their race. Its existence in present-day America has caused African Americans to continue to face a web of social constraints on activities such as housing, education, the labor market, and much more. In the article, “The Color Line: Racial Norms and Discrimination in Urban Labor Markets”, the author William A. Sundstrom uses Dubois’ color line theory by explaining its existence in the labor market discrimination and segregation against Gonzalez 4 black workers. Sundstrom quotes, “... the influence of employer discrimination… the result was often separate but equal work race segregation rather than outright wage discrimination”. The color line was relevant to the labor market behavior through mechanisms such as social norms governing the workplace. These effects create restricted opportunities for the black job advancement and are steered to maintaining the subordinate (blacks) poor while the elite (white) continue to get rich through the unfair wage labor. In this case, the color line invisibly ensures division between races by keeping blacks in the lower/bottom socioeconomic status meaning they have to fight for their rights. When African Americans do fight for equal rights in other words challenging the color line, it just results in more hate. Furthermore, the color line is also in practice in education/academia settings. There is a lack of racial integration in education settings from public schools like Los Angeles Unified School Districts to elite universities like UCLA. In the article, “Can the Courts Erase the Color Line?” the author John P. Frank insists that the color line has been historically integrated and continues to be integrated into education. He states, “Education is improved but not perfected…which poor preliminary education leaves to the Negro student”. The color line is hierarchical which ensures that white people receive better treatment, services, and opportunities like education while black people receive the inferior version of schooling. The color line theory demonstrates the reasoning behind black students in underfunded schools having high drop rates and low college attendance. Also, this results in elite universities like UCLA to have a low population of minority students like the African American community. Meanwhile, their white counterparts have the tools and cultural capital in funded schools to be able to attend elite universities like UCLA. Moreover in the article, “Racial Discrimination in Housing: A Moving Target”, the author Douglas Massey Gonzalez 5 uses the color line theory to argue that whites are motivated to discriminate against blacks to enhance their well-being. When the government enforces policies for equality, whites substitute new mechanisms to maintain their white privilege. An example he uses is housing discrimination. He states, “Housing audits conducted by the federal government in 1977 & 1989 found high levels of racial discrimination with few signs of decline”. Although agents can no longer refuse housing to African Americans, there are still a variety of subtle ways agents ensure blacks are unlikely to inspect, rent, or buy homes in white neighborhoods. With the color line theory, there is evidence that although slavery has been abolished there continues to be legalized segregation in the United States. It also reflects a duo meaning. One aspect reflects a color line created by law and the other of which reflects the disparity between life for African Americans in the United States. 

The color line theory was originally used to reference the racial segregation that existed in the United States after the abolition of slavery. Although changes in America were made, these changes were not inclusive to African Americans. America continues to practice its foundation of being a democracy for everyone meaning “free” and has “equal” rights, justice, and liberty for all. There can be no real equality of cultural integration with the presence of the color line. The color of skin instantly plays a role in a democracy which results in unfair rights. Through the lens of the color line theory, one cannot say there is democracy unless every group has the freedom and equal rights without being discriminated against due to the color of their skin. Although slavery has been abolished, the color line theory is still in place and active in several aspects of today’s society such as education, housing, in the government, and much more. 

To conclude, despite the success of the civil rights movement, the color line continues to restrict African Americans from assimilation into the broader American society. 

Bibliography 

• Cornelius, Janet. “‘We Slipped and Learned to Read:' Slave Accounts of the Literacy Process, 1830-1865.” ​Phylon (1960-)​, vol. 44, no. 3, 1983, pp. 171–186. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/274930. Accessed 6 Mar. 2020. 
• Douglass, Frederick. “The Color Line.” ​The North American Review​, vol. 132, no. 295, 1881, pp. 567–577. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/25100970. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020. 
• Frank, John P. “Can the Courts Erase the Color Line?” ​The Journal of Negro Education​, vol. 21, no. 3, 1952, pp. 304–316. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/2293370. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020. 
• Jarrett, Gene Andrew. “What Is Jim Crow?” ​PMLA​, vol. 128, no. 2, 2013, pp. 388–390., www.jstor.org/stable/23489782. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020. 
• Massey, Douglass S. “Racial Discrimination in Housing: A Moving Target.” ​Social Problems​, vol. 52, no. 2, 2005, pp. 148–151. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/sp.2005.52.2.148. Accessed 7 Mar. 2020. 
• Mecklin, John M. “The Philosophy of the Color Line.” ​American Journal of Sociology​, vol. 19, no. 3, 1913, pp. 343–357. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/2763189. Accessed 6 Mar. 2020.
• Santoro, Wayne A. “The Civil Rights Movement and the Right to Vote: Black Protest, Segregationist Violence and the Audience.” ​Social Forces​, vol. 86, no. 4, 2008, pp. 1391–1414. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/20430815. Accessed 6 Mar. 2020. 
• Gonzalez 7 Sundstrom, William A. “The Color Line: Racial Norms and Discrimination in Urban Labor Markets, 1910-1950.” ​The Journal of Economic History​, vol. 54, no. 2, 1994, pp. 382–396. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/2123919. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.