color line

Also called color bar. social or political restriction or distinction based on differences of skin pigmentation, as between white and black people.

Nearby words

draw the color line, to observe a color line.

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.
The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States|Benjamin Brawley
Across the color-line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls.
The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States|Benjamin Brawley
Wherever the discussion began it promptly shaded off toward the color-line and insult.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
The Roman Catholic Church deserves praise for its disregard of the color-line.
American Missionary, Volume 43, No. 2, February, 1889|Various

The “discoverer” had been the bane of many a people—remember the color-line!
Mr. Oseba's Last Discovery|George W. Bell