color line

American  

[kuhl-er lahyn] / ˈkʌl ər ˌlaɪn /

noun

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

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idioms

1. draw the color line, to observe a color line.

Etymology

Origin of color line

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

When Jackie Robinson entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his informational plaque didn’t mention that he had broken baseball’s color line.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

She described how recent protests against police violence are affecting her understanding of America’s color line.

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2025

In late 2014 I was hired to play friend #3 in a new commercial for Garnier Nutrisse, the at-home hair color line.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2023

Moses Fleetwood Walker became a catcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884, before organized baseball was segregated and more than 60 years before Robinson broke the major leagues’ color line.

From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2023

They would no sooner question the color line than they would the concept of heaven and hell or the fact that man must earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson