The Problem Of The Color Line Analysis

“The Problem of the Color Line” also named the “the problem of the twentieth century” by W.E.B Du Bois was defined as the impact of race and racism in the development of society. W.E.B Du Bois’ focus on the impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as the basis of the construction of a capitalist and consumerist economy creates the argument that people of color, especially those of African descent or labeled as black, were socially disadvantaged as they became a commodity and denied basic human rights. By defining and naming a “color line” Du Bois opens the floor to the discussion of race and the supremacy of whiteness as well as the continuing exploitation of those who fall in hereditary poverty. Du Bois begins to locate the extend of this
As Du Bois focused on the communities of economically deprived black communities, he gathered and concluded that the impact of the modern day slavery continued into the twentieth century. The unequal system of power, wealth, and opportunity created by Chattel slavery did not just affect those slaves tied to plantation fields, but rather these systems of inequality traveled through the years and settlements of the free black man. The capitalist economy created by the desire of European wealth and power may have been temporary postponed by the emancipation of slaves, but the exploitation of black labor continued. Modern day history was affected by as Du Bois named it the “color line”. Black communities were demeaned as inferior, a school of thought that had existed for centuries, and this idea that the inferiority of black men and women was a reason of their failure as well as a reasonable biological explanation allowed for the justification of not providing proper help and resources to their
Du Bois stood in front of the American Negro Academy, and presented to them “the problem of the color line”, his stance on the problems caused by the modern slave trade; he presented the idea that the creation of race and race inferiority by this form of slavery continued to affect black communities in the twentieth century. This new era of black communities lived in the idea of freedom, but they were oppressed by the problems created in the time of their African ancestors. W.E.B. Du Bois exploration, discovery, and presentation of these problems caused by the “color line” were the effects of the Renaissance yet their effects lasted a much longer time than the Renaissance