color line

noun

variants US color line or British colour line
plural color lines
: a set of societal or legal barriers that segregates people of color from white people (as by restricting social interaction or requiring separate facilities) and prevents people of color from exercising the same rights and accessing the same opportunities as white people
usually used with the
His father … had grown up in California with Jackie Robinson, who broke the color line in Major League Baseball.Maureen O'Donnell

called also color bar

Examples of color line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Not until a Theatre Guild production in 1943 did Robeson break the color line in America, above the Mason-Dixon line at least, with Jose Ferrar as Iago, who stole the show, and Uta Hagen, taking something of a career risk, as Desdemona. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024 In the 1950s, Althea Gibson, the Grand Slam-winning tennis player, and the first Black woman to cross the color line of international tennis, was also a Shady Rest regular. Buffy Gorrilla, NPR, 25 Sep. 2024 The protagonist was based on the real-life heavyweight-champion boxer Jack Johnson, who winningly flouted the color line, in bed and in the ring. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024 This launch comes on the heels of a clean professional hair color line, expansion into Asia and an upcoming Middle East expansion. Emily Burns, WWD, 9 Sep. 2024 More than a century later, South Africans have begun to understand that while the color line still matters, the poverty line has become more salient as the country has been dominated by a new multiracial group of economic insiders. Sisonke Msimang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021 In the early 1900s, W. E. B. Du Bois argued that the problem of the twentieth century would be the color line. Sisonke Msimang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021 Along with maintaining the color line, arguably his most notable action was banning, for life, the players on the Chicago White Sox involved in the fixing of the 1919 World Series. Jared Bahir Browsh, The Conversation, 10 May 2024 Taylor’s grandfather had been born into slavery, and yet he and Taylor’s father became highly successful and influential entrepreneurs and landowners despite Texas’ strict color line. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'color line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of color line was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near color line

Cite this Entry

“Color line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/color%20line. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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