W.E.B. DuBois in 1945 pointed out that the problem of this century "is the problem of the color line," and a look through American history shows that this has been the case not only with reference to the line between black and white but between other facial groups as well--Hispanic, Asian, and Native American. Europeans brought a certain attitude with them to this continent, an attitude of superiority that became translated into racial superiority over other racial groups. The color line became even more of a problem with certain other developments, such as the institution of slavery, the use of Chinese labor on the railroads, and more recently, issues of illegal immigration primarily across the Southern border. The problem of the color line remains with us today, as can be seen in the recent arguments and votes concerning immigration issues, the use of affirmative action in higher education and the giving of public works contracts, and in hate crimes sowing that this is anything but a colorblind society.
The color line was an issue from the time Europeans first arrived in North America, with the Native Americans standing as a people seen as different culturally and racially. The Europeans later would bring slaves from Africa to work the plantations, and the color line again operated to keep the races separate and, more importantly, to assert the superiority of the white race over the black, just as the Europeans had asserted their superiority over the Indian. Zinn points out that history is written by those who have won in the struggle for land and control, and he notes that the fact that Columbus is celebrated as a hero derives from this fact even though this means "the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress" (Zinn 9). The Spanish destroyed entire civilizations in the New World and killed Indians, burned villages, and murdered men, women, and children in order to assert their superiority and their ...