“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line.”

By definition, the color-line is the physical separation of the races in public and private life. However, the color-line extended far beyond that of the conventional meaning. This is displayed in one of the most poignant essays in this work, entitled Of the Passing of the First-Born. In this chapter, DuBois speaks in detail about the birth and subsequent death of his first-born son. Here, DuBois vaguely implies that he could find no physician to treat his son:

“Out in the starlight I crept, to rouse the

Why did the color-line rear its ugly head when it came to treating a dying child? This brought an even wider characterization to the term “color-line”. It was not

Unfortunately, there were some activists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, namely Booker T. Washington, that favored the color-line, and even argued in favor of its practice. However, DuBois did not believe in the accommodationist philosophy. DuBois wanted blacks to grasp all rights belonging to all Americans, not just white Americans. He believed in equal political, social, and civil rights for all. DuBois also believed that the burden of realizing these aspirations should have belonged to the nation, rather than placed on the “Negro’s shoulders” as Washington volunteered. He wanted equality for all men, not at the convenience of a powerful foe.

He accepted segregation on these terms, which offended other African-American leaders, specific

Some topics in this essay:
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