Still Forcing Back the Color Line: Implications for Social Work Research and Practice

In 1903, William Edward Burghardt DuBois reported that the problem of the 20th century was the problem of the color line. The color line symbolized relations between the darker and lighter races throughout Asia, Africa, America and the islands (DuBois, 1903). Shortly after Emancipation, the color line facilitated the disenfranchisement of freed Blacks in the United States (U.S.). Slavery had been abolished but the color line continued to hold back justice for freed Blacks newly cast as wards of the state, requiring financial and social governance and protection. DuBois (1903) indicated that “despite compromise, war, and struggle, the Negro [was] not free” (p. 28). Instead, the social, economic, and political existence of freed black men was volleyed between the political positions of the divided North and South. Three years later, DuBois (1906) reported that Blacks had begun to force back the color line. A small number of Blacks formed independent groups, became land owners, and participated in unions. Numerous Blacks sacrificed immediate gratification and often risked their lives for social, economic, and political rights. However, these achievements and sacrifices were associated with negative social and economic costs. Aware of this quandary, DuBois (1906) stated “Negroes have forced back the color line, but undoubtedly increased the color-prejudice of workingmen by so doing” (p. 239). More than a century later, it appears that the color line and the quandary remain. There are indeed implications for 21st century social work research and practice, but the problem of the color line is scarcely tended to in recent social work literature. Thus, the problem of the color line, the forcing back of the color line, and 21st century relevance are discussed in the following sections. Based on DuBois’ writings, the first section provides a historical overview of how Blacks struggled to force back the color line in the 20th century. The second section extends the color line discussion to the 21st century. It provides a critical review of a 2007 national conference on race and its salience for current social and economic issues. The final section discusses implications for social work research and practice.