The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
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One of Publishers Weekly's 10 Best Books of 2017 Longlisted for the National Book Award This “powerful and disturbing history” exposes how American governments deliberately imposed racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide ( New York Times Book Review ). In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation―that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation―the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments―that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day. Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" ( The Atlantic ), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north. As Jane Jacobs established in her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities , it was the deeply flawed urban planning of the 1950s that created many of the impoverished neighborhoods we know. Now, Rothstein expands our understanding of this history, showing how government policies led to the creation of officially segregated public housing and the demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated, the great American suburbanization of the post–World War II years was spurred on by federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans. Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by supporting violent resistance to black families in white neighborhoods. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited future discrimination but did nothing to reverse residential patterns that had become deeply embedded. Yet recent outbursts of violence in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, and Minneapolis show us precisely how the legacy of these earlier eras contributes to persistent racial unrest. “The American landscape will never look the same to readers of this important book” (Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund), as Rothstein’s invaluable examination shows that only by relearning this history can we finally pave the way for the nation to remedy its unconstitutional past. 13 illustrations Review: Segregation in the North Was Also backed up by law ! - The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Richard Rothstein Liveright Publishing Corporation 2017 This is a very detailed, interesting and tragic account of how Federal, state and local governments perpetuated and imposed residential segregation from at least the early 20th century. The key point that the author makes is that most of De Facto segregation is actually De Jure segregation. As the Post-Reconstruction South imposed Jim Crow , the Federal government and states and localities in the North, were enforcing their own segregation policies. The author largely rejects the whole distinction between De Facto and De Jure apartheid. The author almost only discusses residential segregation. This means that the Southern legal policies that created separate Black and white restaurants , water fountains etc. are not addressed. He therefore underemphasizes the difference between the North and the South. In the North, similar policies were often carried out by private actors while in the South these were written in law. The distinction between North and South is often overemphasized so this is a useful corrective. The stress on De Jure action by Federal and Northern governments is important and very well taken ! The excuse often given was the need for community harmony. Yet relatively integrated “slums” were often cleared to make way for segregated housing. The author notes that private bigoted action including physical attacks was often the back up to public policy. The Democratic Party’s reputation is skewered in this account. From Woodrow Wilson to FDR and beyond, Federal policies specifically reinforced legal apartheid. The FHA had specific pro-segregation policies. Much of home lending required FHA support. This meant that it was impossible to get loans for Black people to move into white areas. The only exception was conscious block busting by real estate agents. Local racist zoning policies were outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1917. The ground for this was the freedom to contract---not anti-racism! It went along with other decisions outlawing minimum wages, etc. Local governments often found ways around the decision. They also began to shift to economic zoning—single family only, size of lots etc. a The author also explains the role of the police in enforcing racist laws. They allowed mobs to physically attack Black families moving into white areas. They also enforced racist covenants by evicting Black families that violated the covenants. One effect of all this was concentration of wealth and income among whites. Rothstein explains this in some detail. Whites could build wealth after WWI by buying in the white only suburbs with VA and FHA loans. Blacks could not , so never build equity at the rate that whites did. In order to win U.S. workers from support of Bolshevism, the U.S. government engaged in a major campaign to encourage home ownership. There were 2 million posters put out etc. This was a slow roll-out. At first buyers were only given mortgages that did not build equity and had to be paid off in a few years. A shift toward the current form took place in the 30’s . In all cases, restrictions made it harder for Black families. Overall, this book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of institutional racism in the U.S. The contrast between North and South though real in certain respects has long been over-emphasized. Institutional racism is an AMERICAN problem, not a Southern problem alone. The U.S. ruling class endorsed racism from the end of Reconstruction onward. The forms used in different in different areas but the overall program was similar. The potential of the unity of poor Blacks and whites had to be eliminated . In the South this was done with Jim Crow. In the North ,it was done with segregation. The author’s politics are liberal. This comes across strongly. He stresses that the real problem with segregation is that it violates the U.S. constitution. He advances other moral considerations but constitutionalism is the key one. Of course this is contradictory. The U.S. constitution enshrined an unequal racial order. Even the 13th amendment which ended slavery consolidated slavery through the criminal injustice system. The 14th amendment has been interpreted in different ways. The structure of the constitution with its Senate, Electoral College, judicial and presidential veto, exclusion of immigrants and felons from voting etc. is inherently racist and undemocratic. Further, the constitution was founded on the expulsion, dispossession and genocide of native people. We cannot logically base anti-racism on constitutionalism. Related to this is the author’s acceptance of the capitalist system. While favoring measures to improve opportunities and even transferring some wealth, he strongly accepts the current class divisions. He stresses the needs of middle class Blacks. He favors the right of poor Blacks to become middle class, but accepts the existence of the middle class. Of course he defines class on an income basis. In spite of this, his explanation of and attack on the concentration of wealth is important. Beyond this, the weakest political point in the book is its exclusion of other BIPOC groups. He doesn’t discuss Natives . He believes that the other racial groups will assimilate over time as did European ethnic groups. He downplays the effect on racism on Latinos compared to Blacks. Yet the laws and covenants he discusses exclude ALL who are not “Caucasian”. It is true that due to the role of slavery in the foundation of U.S. wealth , that Blacks have historically been the largest BIPOC group and most spread across the U.S. , Blacks have been central economically and politically. However, his downplay of other groups is misplaced. Finally, the centrality on integration is a bit off. The problem with segregation is that it was a policy for the enforcement of oppression. What needs to be ended is oppression. Some of his proposals for what amount to reparations are very useful. The ones that just promote integration are less. He notes that the reforms are unlikely to be passed. Education is the key to changing political realities he feels. Because of his liberal politics, he doesn’t consider the real solution to institutional racism: a socialist revolution that will center the fight against exploitation and class division. To be successful, this movement will have to bring the fight against oppression to the very center of the struggle. In spite of the limitations of the author’s liberal politics, the documentation of institutional racism in the North and West is VERY important and needs to be widely understood ! Review: Mind blowing! Sanctioned Under Law - BOOK REVIEW: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein I was blown away by the book and the phenomenal research that went into it. The bottom line is that our federal, state, and local governments played a major role in legislating and sanctioning American segregation. Churches, universities, law enforcement, and the courts ALL upheld blatant violation of the 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th (1870) Amendments of the United States Constitution. The book is an indictment of the role that each of these agencies of segregation played with a specific focus on housing. Why housing? Housing has played a major role in building wealth in this country. Housing plays a role in the education one receives, the job opportunities one might get, and the wealth one can pass on to progeny. Housing served as a means of integration. Integration that would have been deemed normal by the time the 1920s rolled around in a post 15th Amendment ratification era. But this was not the story of America. From the interference of racial covenants to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) only approving, issuing, and insuring loans for developers and owners for White-only properties, Blacks would never experience the full impact of homeownership and all the benefits attached to the way their White counterparts would and did. Banks, like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and many others also would not approve loans for Blacks or would charge rates much higher than their Whites even when risk was equivalent. Chapters of this book paint a picture and help define terms used today. Every real estate agent, developer, city planning office, city councilperson, county commissioner, mayor, etc. etc. should read this book. I don't even think people should talk about reparations without reading and understanding the information in this book and many other revealing authors who have uncovered American History most of us have never heard before. In short, we were all duped to some level. White fear was played on the most. Even if Whites did not believe and were against what was happening, eventually they paid through public shame, loss of property, damaged property, death threats, and some lost their lives if they stood by their Black brothers and sisters. Some Whites were even sued and jailed for renting to Blacks and other minorities. Ultimately, however, Blacks paid the highest price through generational poverty, abuse, and death carefully crafted by a system that was supposed to protect them through Constitutional rights. You will learn about the difference between "de facto segregation" and "de jure segregation." What blew me away the most was the role of the Church. I have commented in many of my book reviews on Christianity or the Church and this shall be no different, especially as I see most churches still do nothing today or they struggle in how to address the issue. Bob Jones University is specifically mentioned in the book. The case of "Bob Jones University vs the United States" in 1983 where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1976 IRS decision and concluded that "an institution seeking tax-exempt status must serve a public purpose and not be contrary to establish public policy." In other words, the university had to give up their practice of "NOT allowing interracial dating by its students." The bottom line to all industries that receive some form of a government benefit through tax-exemptions, subsidies, grants, etc. is that they CAN NOT discriminate as to whom they will serve nor place discriminatory requirements upon people (taxpayers) that utilize their services. If they do, and the evidence shows they do, they put their government-assisted business at risk. I believe in the American Dream. I believe that people can and should choose and define for themselves the life that they'd like to live within the parameters of our laws. However, I do not believe anyone should get any kind of assistance from my tax dollars (i.e. the government) to discriminate against another person. Our government should reinforce structures and systems that make it difficult for those that receive a government benefit to discriminate. They should be penalized if caught and the data shows it to be a proven fact. And it should take years! This book provides plenty of those proven facts and requires an answer from our elected officials, law enforcement agencies, courts, churches, and education bodies. I highly recommend this read. It will blow your mind at how carefully segregation was crafted, maintained, and exercised. Even today, some of the same "code-switching" language is used to continue some forms of discrimination based on the old system under which it was established. This book will help you recognize some of that language, but not all. To Blacks and minorities I will say this, get in a position to own a home or property. Save up for it! Make the necessary sacrifices. Leverage it instead of unsecured credit. Most lenders are looking for their money or repayment to be guaranteed by some form of equity, which a home can provide if you want to launch a business. You can borrow against your own equity to send your kids to college. Waiting on the government, that has been overwhelming against BIPOC, may and probably is not the best answer until officials are in place that will reverse the serious damage done. That can take decades, so for those that are able, start today. Utilize services that will help you get debt-free, that will help you build a nest egg of YOUR OWN, and will help you get into a property you can afford with a modest down payment. This book may also challenge you to leave your all Black neighborhood the way it challenges Whites to accept integration as a means of increasing property value, moving closer to their egalitarian beliefs, and demonstrating an America that truly only exists in a few locales (i.e. neighborhoods) of excellence but not in the country as a whole. I believe the book will challenge us all...and quite uniquely too!
| Best Sellers Rank | #36,671 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Housing & Urban Development Law (Books) #2 in City Planning & Urban Development #2 in Urban Planning and Development |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 18,594 Reviews |
S**H
Segregation in the North Was Also backed up by law !
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Richard Rothstein Liveright Publishing Corporation 2017 This is a very detailed, interesting and tragic account of how Federal, state and local governments perpetuated and imposed residential segregation from at least the early 20th century. The key point that the author makes is that most of De Facto segregation is actually De Jure segregation. As the Post-Reconstruction South imposed Jim Crow , the Federal government and states and localities in the North, were enforcing their own segregation policies. The author largely rejects the whole distinction between De Facto and De Jure apartheid. The author almost only discusses residential segregation. This means that the Southern legal policies that created separate Black and white restaurants , water fountains etc. are not addressed. He therefore underemphasizes the difference between the North and the South. In the North, similar policies were often carried out by private actors while in the South these were written in law. The distinction between North and South is often overemphasized so this is a useful corrective. The stress on De Jure action by Federal and Northern governments is important and very well taken ! The excuse often given was the need for community harmony. Yet relatively integrated “slums” were often cleared to make way for segregated housing. The author notes that private bigoted action including physical attacks was often the back up to public policy. The Democratic Party’s reputation is skewered in this account. From Woodrow Wilson to FDR and beyond, Federal policies specifically reinforced legal apartheid. The FHA had specific pro-segregation policies. Much of home lending required FHA support. This meant that it was impossible to get loans for Black people to move into white areas. The only exception was conscious block busting by real estate agents. Local racist zoning policies were outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1917. The ground for this was the freedom to contract---not anti-racism! It went along with other decisions outlawing minimum wages, etc. Local governments often found ways around the decision. They also began to shift to economic zoning—single family only, size of lots etc. a The author also explains the role of the police in enforcing racist laws. They allowed mobs to physically attack Black families moving into white areas. They also enforced racist covenants by evicting Black families that violated the covenants. One effect of all this was concentration of wealth and income among whites. Rothstein explains this in some detail. Whites could build wealth after WWI by buying in the white only suburbs with VA and FHA loans. Blacks could not , so never build equity at the rate that whites did. In order to win U.S. workers from support of Bolshevism, the U.S. government engaged in a major campaign to encourage home ownership. There were 2 million posters put out etc. This was a slow roll-out. At first buyers were only given mortgages that did not build equity and had to be paid off in a few years. A shift toward the current form took place in the 30’s . In all cases, restrictions made it harder for Black families. Overall, this book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of institutional racism in the U.S. The contrast between North and South though real in certain respects has long been over-emphasized. Institutional racism is an AMERICAN problem, not a Southern problem alone. The U.S. ruling class endorsed racism from the end of Reconstruction onward. The forms used in different in different areas but the overall program was similar. The potential of the unity of poor Blacks and whites had to be eliminated . In the South this was done with Jim Crow. In the North ,it was done with segregation. The author’s politics are liberal. This comes across strongly. He stresses that the real problem with segregation is that it violates the U.S. constitution. He advances other moral considerations but constitutionalism is the key one. Of course this is contradictory. The U.S. constitution enshrined an unequal racial order. Even the 13th amendment which ended slavery consolidated slavery through the criminal injustice system. The 14th amendment has been interpreted in different ways. The structure of the constitution with its Senate, Electoral College, judicial and presidential veto, exclusion of immigrants and felons from voting etc. is inherently racist and undemocratic. Further, the constitution was founded on the expulsion, dispossession and genocide of native people. We cannot logically base anti-racism on constitutionalism. Related to this is the author’s acceptance of the capitalist system. While favoring measures to improve opportunities and even transferring some wealth, he strongly accepts the current class divisions. He stresses the needs of middle class Blacks. He favors the right of poor Blacks to become middle class, but accepts the existence of the middle class. Of course he defines class on an income basis. In spite of this, his explanation of and attack on the concentration of wealth is important. Beyond this, the weakest political point in the book is its exclusion of other BIPOC groups. He doesn’t discuss Natives . He believes that the other racial groups will assimilate over time as did European ethnic groups. He downplays the effect on racism on Latinos compared to Blacks. Yet the laws and covenants he discusses exclude ALL who are not “Caucasian”. It is true that due to the role of slavery in the foundation of U.S. wealth , that Blacks have historically been the largest BIPOC group and most spread across the U.S. , Blacks have been central economically and politically. However, his downplay of other groups is misplaced. Finally, the centrality on integration is a bit off. The problem with segregation is that it was a policy for the enforcement of oppression. What needs to be ended is oppression. Some of his proposals for what amount to reparations are very useful. The ones that just promote integration are less. He notes that the reforms are unlikely to be passed. Education is the key to changing political realities he feels. Because of his liberal politics, he doesn’t consider the real solution to institutional racism: a socialist revolution that will center the fight against exploitation and class division. To be successful, this movement will have to bring the fight against oppression to the very center of the struggle. In spite of the limitations of the author’s liberal politics, the documentation of institutional racism in the North and West is VERY important and needs to be widely understood !
J**)
Mind blowing! Sanctioned Under Law
BOOK REVIEW: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein I was blown away by the book and the phenomenal research that went into it. The bottom line is that our federal, state, and local governments played a major role in legislating and sanctioning American segregation. Churches, universities, law enforcement, and the courts ALL upheld blatant violation of the 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th (1870) Amendments of the United States Constitution. The book is an indictment of the role that each of these agencies of segregation played with a specific focus on housing. Why housing? Housing has played a major role in building wealth in this country. Housing plays a role in the education one receives, the job opportunities one might get, and the wealth one can pass on to progeny. Housing served as a means of integration. Integration that would have been deemed normal by the time the 1920s rolled around in a post 15th Amendment ratification era. But this was not the story of America. From the interference of racial covenants to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) only approving, issuing, and insuring loans for developers and owners for White-only properties, Blacks would never experience the full impact of homeownership and all the benefits attached to the way their White counterparts would and did. Banks, like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and many others also would not approve loans for Blacks or would charge rates much higher than their Whites even when risk was equivalent. Chapters of this book paint a picture and help define terms used today. Every real estate agent, developer, city planning office, city councilperson, county commissioner, mayor, etc. etc. should read this book. I don't even think people should talk about reparations without reading and understanding the information in this book and many other revealing authors who have uncovered American History most of us have never heard before. In short, we were all duped to some level. White fear was played on the most. Even if Whites did not believe and were against what was happening, eventually they paid through public shame, loss of property, damaged property, death threats, and some lost their lives if they stood by their Black brothers and sisters. Some Whites were even sued and jailed for renting to Blacks and other minorities. Ultimately, however, Blacks paid the highest price through generational poverty, abuse, and death carefully crafted by a system that was supposed to protect them through Constitutional rights. You will learn about the difference between "de facto segregation" and "de jure segregation." What blew me away the most was the role of the Church. I have commented in many of my book reviews on Christianity or the Church and this shall be no different, especially as I see most churches still do nothing today or they struggle in how to address the issue. Bob Jones University is specifically mentioned in the book. The case of "Bob Jones University vs the United States" in 1983 where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1976 IRS decision and concluded that "an institution seeking tax-exempt status must serve a public purpose and not be contrary to establish public policy." In other words, the university had to give up their practice of "NOT allowing interracial dating by its students." The bottom line to all industries that receive some form of a government benefit through tax-exemptions, subsidies, grants, etc. is that they CAN NOT discriminate as to whom they will serve nor place discriminatory requirements upon people (taxpayers) that utilize their services. If they do, and the evidence shows they do, they put their government-assisted business at risk. I believe in the American Dream. I believe that people can and should choose and define for themselves the life that they'd like to live within the parameters of our laws. However, I do not believe anyone should get any kind of assistance from my tax dollars (i.e. the government) to discriminate against another person. Our government should reinforce structures and systems that make it difficult for those that receive a government benefit to discriminate. They should be penalized if caught and the data shows it to be a proven fact. And it should take years! This book provides plenty of those proven facts and requires an answer from our elected officials, law enforcement agencies, courts, churches, and education bodies. I highly recommend this read. It will blow your mind at how carefully segregation was crafted, maintained, and exercised. Even today, some of the same "code-switching" language is used to continue some forms of discrimination based on the old system under which it was established. This book will help you recognize some of that language, but not all. To Blacks and minorities I will say this, get in a position to own a home or property. Save up for it! Make the necessary sacrifices. Leverage it instead of unsecured credit. Most lenders are looking for their money or repayment to be guaranteed by some form of equity, which a home can provide if you want to launch a business. You can borrow against your own equity to send your kids to college. Waiting on the government, that has been overwhelming against BIPOC, may and probably is not the best answer until officials are in place that will reverse the serious damage done. That can take decades, so for those that are able, start today. Utilize services that will help you get debt-free, that will help you build a nest egg of YOUR OWN, and will help you get into a property you can afford with a modest down payment. This book may also challenge you to leave your all Black neighborhood the way it challenges Whites to accept integration as a means of increasing property value, moving closer to their egalitarian beliefs, and demonstrating an America that truly only exists in a few locales (i.e. neighborhoods) of excellence but not in the country as a whole. I believe the book will challenge us all...and quite uniquely too!
M**A
How The US Government Created White Suburbs Of Legacy Wealth
Great read with all the receipts documented. This book explains how the United States government sanctioned and played a major part in providing legacy wealth to white America while prohibiting the same opportunity to Black America through what I will call post Jim Crow tactics.
T**M
Awesome Book!
Great and informative read! This should be taught in high schools across America! Thank you for a wonderful book, bless you all Amen.
L**R
Well-researched, illuminating read
“Actions of government in housing cannot be neutral about segregation. They will either exacerbate or reverse it. Without taking care to do otherwise, exacerbation is more likely.” What an illuminating book! Through well-researched stories of families, individuals, & communities, as well as court cases and federal, state, and local policies, Rothstein shares evidence with painstaking detail that racial segregation was not de facto (based on individual, personal prejudices) alone, but was de jure segregation—“segregation by law and public policy.” The U.S. has a history of systematic, disturbingly intentional segregation that continues to impact us greatly. This reads almost like a history textbook or legal brief, so it is not the most engaging read, but it is incredibly insightful, thorough, & important. While I knew about some general reasons for segregation, like redlining & the fact that Black veterans did not benefit from the G.I. Bill in the same way white veterans did, I had no idea of the magnitude & intentional nature of housing segregation. Rothstein demonstrates how white perceptions of African Americans as “slum dwellers” were shaped by intentional policies and practices, including “the frequent existence of polluting industry and toxic waste plants in African American communities,” among other practices. He elaborates on the history of public housing & how it made housing communities even more segregated than they already were; racial zoning; & the push for white Americans to own homes as a safeguard against communism & the policies that enabled them to do so while Black families struggled to get loans, find housing, & afford the exorbitant taxes in middle class neighborhoods. He also shows the connection between segregation & state-sanctioned violence, suppressed incomes, & segregation in public education. As I seek to learn more hidden history that illuminates systemic racism in its many forms, I realize more & more how very deeply it is embedded into our government, cultural norms, & collective conscious. Rothstein makes a compelling case for the systematic nature of segregation in the U.S., as well as the legal obligation we have to address it.
A**R
Great book. I recommend.
This book was so enlightening; really enjoyed reading it.
D**O
Fascinating Insight into the History of Segregated Real Estate
Wow. This book was just... wow. Incredibly insightful. First off, it's called 'The Color of Law,' but it deals specifically with the geographical segregation of black and white America, not just systemic sociopolitical segregation. I was expecting something more akin to The New Jim Crow where it delves deeply into a wide array of legal systems that keep people oppressed, but this book is very localized to geographical/location based segregation and real estate discrimination. It's still fascinating, I just wasn't expecting it. That being said, I truly don't think this book could accurately cover each topic adequately if it tried to research other subjects, with how expansive the history of segregated real estate is. The author goes into great detail, starting at the very beginning (though focusing a lot on mid-century to early 2000s) on how the government has structured its states and localities in such a way that prevents comingling and integration. He addresses each and every facet of this issue in depth- from natural migration, zoning law, discriminatory practices, deed provisions, and more. He uses a combination of objective law discussion and illustrative examples of these laws in practice with interviews of the people who dealt with them. It's an in-depth book, and my only complaint is there wasn't more, because I really feel like he could have gone into even more detail, and shared even more examples. But even so, it was a really insightful book and a quick read. The language is easy to digest, and it doesn't take long to click in with the legal jargon. Definitely a must read for those curious about institutionalized racism and how it came to be.
B**D
More history we've forgotten/never been told
Rothstein's book is a damning survey of the federal, state and local governments that created, enforced and perpetuated racial segregation with their openly racist policies and rules from the 1920s to 1960s. It's as clear and well-written as it is persuasive. "In some cities, the government provided war housing only for whites, leaving African Americans in congested slums and restricting their access to jobs. In other cities, like Richmond (California), war housing was created for African American workers as well, but it was segregated. By the war’s end, the Lanham Act had combined with PWA and USHA programs to create or solidify residential racial segregation in every metropolitan area they had touched. When construction of civilian public housing resumed, it continued to promote segregation. Local governments, with federal support, were responsible for its racial character. Segregation violated constitutional rights whether it was federal, state, or local government that insisted upon it. The examples that follow— from the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific Coast— reflect a racial design that prevailed throughout the country during the war and its aftermath." The New Deal's housing projects in Chicago, Detroit and elsewhere were a lousy deal if you were not white, but Rothstein's indictment is fair and balanced: "It would be going too far to suggest that cities like these would have evolved into integrated metropolises were it not for New Deal public housing. But it is also the case that the federal government’s housing rules pushed these cities into a more rigid segregation than otherwise would have existed. The biracial character of many neighborhoods presented opportunities for different futures than the segregated ones that now seem so unexceptional. Yet those opportunities were never seized." Rothstein modestly suggests a number of "remedies" to compensate for the financial losses and missed educational opportunities their kids suffered because they were deliberately forced by discriminatory federal government housing and lending policies and local laws to live in segregated low-income city neighborhoods. He puts too much faith in governments to fix the things they broke, and doesn't include instantly empowering market-oriented weapons like school vouchers, which would help black parents get their kids out of failed urban public schools. His book's great value comes from showing readers that it was deliberate government policies, not private choices or voluntary social forces, that created, enforced and perpetuated racial segregation in the North for nearly a hundred years. I wish I had been able to read this book last year when I was writing 30 Days a Black Man: The Forgotten Story That Exposed the Jim Crow South ,' which only touches lightly on how Northern cities like Pittsburgh, Portland and Washington, D.C., kept their neighborhoods rigidly segregated.
K**R
Boa qualidade
Ainda não li, apenas olhei rapidamente , mas e de boa qualidade.
M**S
Recommend
Good 👍🏾 read
P**O
soooo intestìngi!!
awesome reading and investigation into the red lining phenomenology, sadly still present to this day both in Europe and elsewhere.
K**R
buy it, read it.
The Color of Law is a powerful and eye-opening account of how government policy, not just private bias, actively created and enforced racial segregation in the United States. The book challenges the common narrative that segregation happened naturally, instead showing how deliberate decisions at federal, state, and local levels shaped housing patterns we still see today. Rothstein lays out his argument with detailed historical examples, connecting laws, zoning practices, and housing programs to real communities and outcomes. While some sections can feel dense, the depth of research adds credibility and makes it clear that these weren’t isolated incidents but part of a broader, systemic pattern. Overall, this is an important and thought-provoking read. It reframes how you understand segregation and inequality, making it clear that the effects are not just historical, but ongoing. Definitely worth reading if you want a deeper understanding of how policy shapes society. in a time when books are increasingly being challenged or removed from shelves, it’s worth having your own copy this is the kind of work you want access to anytime.
L**R
Great book. Full of knowledge
Very informative. A slow read. Gives great insight for what is happening in America today. Has cliffs to fact check it.
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