The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Widely heralded as a "masterful" (Washington Post) and "essential" (Slate) history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law offers "the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation" (William Julius Wilson). Exploding the myth of de facto segregation arising from private prejudice or the unintended consequences of economic forces, Rothstein describes how the American government systematically imposed residential segregation: with undisguised racial zoning; public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities; subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs; tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation; and support for violent resistance to African Americans in white neighborhoods. A groundbreaking, "virtually indispensable" study that has already transformed our understanding of twentieth-century urban history (Chicago Daily Observer), The Color of Law forces us to face the obligation to remedy our unconstitutional past.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
Richard Rothstein has put together a damning account of the federal, state, and private laws & policies that deepened the segregation in neighborhoods across America. Often these mandates created segregation where does none before. Even more disturbing is that many of these efforts to separate populations happened during wartime when we were supposed to be coming together as one country. Imagine how disillusioned Black veterans where when they came back from fighting for their country only to be denied home ownership.
It’s no wonder then that the far right doesn’t want anyone reading books like this one. It can’t be read without the anger swelling to a level where nothing can put out the fire but complete and immediate reparations and accountability. Changes that would require some to say goodbye to unearned privileges and wealth. Rather than do that, we know they prefer to dig deeper and let the poison of racism continue to stealthily eat away at the soul of the nation.
Those who argue against economic repair are also likely the beneficiaries of equity gains during a real estate value climb during the pandemic unparalleled in history. They also won’t acknowledge that those left out of those gains are the descendants of citizens discriminated against by LAW and not just sentiment. Rothstein finds a balance in the end that offers inclusive and restorative measures that can bring marginalized minority groups into their equitable positions while also desegregating neighborhoods.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.