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

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

Richard Rothstein's history, The Color of Law, analyzes the history of segregation through housing practices in the United States from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Rothstein, an academic and fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, considers the variety of court cases and legal standards that have shaped housing and racial segregation in cities across the U.S., while simultaneously telling the stories of individuals and families impacted by these legal decisions for over a century. Through this history, Rothstein interrogates the contradictions that exist between the stated ideals of equality and the practices that affect communities of different races differently.