Book

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

2018

Synopsis

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, The Color of Law forces us to face the obligation to remedy our unconstitutional past.

Suggested Reading

Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility

From St. Louis to New Orleans, from Baltimore to Oklahoma City, there are poor and minority neighborhoods so beset by pollution that just living in them can be hazardous to your health. Due to entrenched segregation, zoning ordinances that privilege wealthier communities, or because businesses have ...

Housing for Humans: A Book to Imagine, Create and Design a New Housing Model in America

Where are all the homes? The affordable housing crisis today can be solved through innovative residential and urban design. Family models have evolved, society has reframed the role of cities, and ongoing urban realities demand opportunities to create housing for all, from first-time homeowners to ...

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