Segregation continues in the United States

Reviewing Richard Rothstein's The Color of the Law by J. Tayler Smith

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Not a book on urban design

I am a person who likes systems, planning, and organisation - I systemized most of my life to help me be effective and efficient in accomplishing my goals and leading a good life. Recently, I’ve found myself wanting to learn more about how to apply systems on a larger scale through environmental design and urban planning. Perhaps one day, I will formally study this field. For now, I’ve been testing the waters of this field by reading more books and articles on the subject – which led me to Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law. Once I began reading it, I quickly found that The Color of Law is less about urban design and more about social justice issues in the United States. Not that this is an issue since I believe it is necessary to understand the concerns that persist in society and how I can contribute toward resolving said issues in everyday life. To that end, The Color of Law is not necessarily what I expected, but I am happy to have read it.

Proving racially motivated government decisions that continue to harm today

The Color of Law recalls the history of racism in the United States actively practised through housing, development, and zoning laws throughout the twentieth century. Rothstein succinctly describes what his book is about when he says,

The Color of Law demonstrates that racially explicit government policies to segregate our metropolitan areas are not vestiges, were neither subtle nor intangible, and were sufficiently controlling to construct the de jure [lawful] segregation that is now with us in neighbourhoods and hence in schools. The core argument of this book is that African Americans were unconstitutionally denied the means and the right to integration in middle-class neighbourhoods, and because this denial was state-sponsored, the nation is obliged to remedy it.

Through this book, Rothstein demonstrates how the current inequities in neighbourhoods and the lives of minority groups across the United States derive from specific government decisions that barred minorities from equal access to society well after the abolition of slavery and desegregation. Rothstein focuses exclusively on the history and policies of the United States, which means the reader cannot draw conclusions about how racism persists in other countries from this book, such as my home country of Canada. Nevertheless, this book is a valuable resource for comparing whether the practices of other countries parallel those in the United States.

The feature of The Color of Law is the number of examples Rothstein provides that drive his point home. Rothstein starts by explaining his thesis that racial government policies led to the ongoing segregation of metropolitan areas in the United States. Rothstein then proves his point with example after example after example. This style makes the book feel repetitive and dry; however, it also makes The Color of Law an excellent resource since Rothstein lays out dozens of cited examples in an orderly fashion.

In summary, The Color of Law showcases how race-driven decisions by all levels of government in the United States continue to impact its society today. Throughout his book, Rothstein demonstrates how government decisions:

• Built racially separate public housing in cities where segregation was not previously established.

• Urged suburbs to adopt zoning laws that encouraged Caucasian people to move to racially exclusive suburbs.

• Only permitted land developers to secure loans from the Federal Housing Administration if their land was planned to incorporate segregation.

• Allowed private discrimination by ordering the eviction of African American homeowners in neighbourhoods where homeowner associations barred African Americans from living.

• Allowed churches, universities and hospitals to promote racially restrictive policies by allowing them to retain their tax-exempt status.

• Encouraged leaders of mob violence against African Americans by failing to arrest said leaders when they violently protested African Americans who moved into Caucasian neighbourhoods.

• Gave real-estate licences to brokers who claimed an ethical obligation to impose segregation.

• Determined school and attendance boundaries that strategically separated African American and Caucasian populations.

• Used interstates to demolish African American neighbourhoods and force those residents into urban ghettos.

• Reinforced racial isolation by directing African Americans who receive housing assistance into low-income segregated neighbourhoods rather than zoning mixed high and low-income housing.

Rothstein reinforces each of these points with well-researched documents, archives, and interviews, making it impossible for a person to refute his claims without denying documented facts.

A highly factual resource

What I appreciate most about the book, which comes with its topic, is its emphasis on rectifying relationships between people groups. The Color of Law focuses on repairing the damage to African American families seeking better lives. Rothstein asks his reader to understand this history and to consider what the country can do to show respect and promote reconciliation with the African American community. Rothstein does not beat around the bush; he encourages his readers to support a complete acknowledgement of the wrong that was done and asks them to support policy changes that repair the damage and provide remuneration. Rothstein admits that the wrongdoing likely led to irreparable harm in the African American community, perpetuating cycles of poverty and racial isolation that may never be undone, but he advocates that the reconciliation effort is worth pursuing and starts by taking responsibility and making an effort to fix what is broken.

Rothstein comes across as well-researched in this topic; he consistently uses direct sources and quotations in his work. A brief search shows that Rothstein is a historian and author affiliated with the Economic Policy Institute, a think-tank that analyses the economic impact of policy decisions in the United States. He is considered an expert on education and race & ethnicity. The contents of his book showcase his proficiency as a researcher and author.

Through Rothstein’s efforts, The Color of Law is backed by a significant number of historical records to demonstrate how racist policies shaped the neighbourhoods of the United States. The book contains 27 pages of bibliography and references that include court cases, academic articles, books, dissertations, statements, interviews, and archived materials. Altogether, this makes The Color of Law highly factual and trustworthy in what it asserts. For these reasons, I suggest that this book works well as a reference for researchers looking for relevant documents on the subject matter.

Rothstein’s writing and research work well in his goal of bringing injustice to light so that justice may be had going forward. The Color of Law is a call for justice. Rothstein calls upon every government level of the United States to correct the injustice of denying African Americans their constitutional rights given through Abolition. He also calls on his average reader to support leaders and politicians who support actions that bring forth this justice. Toward the end of this book, Rothstein writes, “What do we, the American community, owe this family, in this and future generations, for their loss of opportunity? How might we fulfil this obligation?” He then leaves it up to the reader to answer this question.

Good as a reference, but not everyone wants to read a reference

Despite my appreciation of the book, I found The Color of Law hard to enjoy because of the dry writing style and the nature of the topic. I acknowledge, however, thatenjoyability is not the purpose of this book. Instead, its role is a sobering look at how the United States built urban areas at the expense of the African American community. The Color of Law is an important book, but not one that a person would normally turn to for pleasure reading.

The Color of Law feels like it should be monumental; however, I cannot say that I sense it shifted my perspective of the world around me. I received a general sense of the improper application of land-use laws and policies in the United States and an idea of what needs to be done to rectify the situation but I don’t get the sense that this book has changed my life. Perhaps this lack of impact is due to my Canadian citizenship – maybe this book would have a greater impact on a citizen of the United States. Or perhaps, I was less influenced by this book because I read it during a busy season of my life. All I mean to say is the book is good, but it did not stand out for me.

However, I intend to keep The Color of Law on my bookshelf because it provides concrete examples of how racist policies affected the African American community in the United States for generations – it is a good reference. For example, Rothstein writes how:

Hundreds if not thousands of smaller acts of government contributed. They included petty actions like denial of access to public utilities; determining, once African Americans wanted to build, that their property was, after all, needed for parkland; or discovering that a road leading to African American homes was “private.” They include routing interstate highways to create racial boundaries or to shift the residential placement of African American families. And they included choosing school sites to force families to move to segregated neighbourhoods if they wanted education for their children.

I don’t think I can suggest that this is a book everybody needs to read, but those already interested in the subject matter would benefit from having read or owning this book. Therefore, I don’t recommend The Color of Law to most people. (Besides, those I think most need to read this book are those most likely to disagree with and disregard the book altogether). Those already interested in social justice, particularly for the African American community in the United States, are those most likely to put this book to good use.

Read it if you're already interested in the subject

The Color of Law is a good book and one that is important to read on the subjects of social justice, racism, housing policy, and economics in the United States. It nails its point home and makes its claim nearly indisputable with dozens of well-researched examples. Most who want to read it will use it as a reference on the subject matter moving forward. However, I don’t think general audiences would appreciate this book as much. It is most impactful and relevant for a reader who lives in the United States and is most useful for those already interested in the subject and generally supportive of correcting injustices that were had on African American families over the past one hundred years. For all these reasons, I give The Color of Law five out of nine stars.

References

Rothstein, Richard. 2018. The Color of the Law: A Forgotten History of how our Government Segregated America. New York, New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation.