color line
noun
Also called color bar. social or political restriction or distinction based on differences of skin pigmentation, as between white and black people.
Origin of color line
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for color line
Historical Examples of color line
The “discoverer” had been the bane of many a people—remember the color-line!
Mr. Oseba's Last DiscoveryGeorge W. Bell
The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.
The Negro in Literature and Art in the United StatesBenjamin Brawley
They were not at all sure that the color-line could be peacefully drawn.
Wherever the discussion began it promptly shaded off toward the color-line and insult.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, CompleteAlbert Bigelow Paine
This amendment wiped out the color-line in politics so far as any written law could possibly do it.