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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Rothstein say was the first consequence of black families moving into whites neighborhoods through blockbusting?

2. What recommendation did President Hoover’s homeownership team make, in terms of Negro housing?

3. What was demolished to make way for the first PWA development?

4. When would a black family acquire equity in the house it bought, under the kinds of sales blockbusters typically used?

5. What else was covered beside who could buy a house in a racially restrictive covenant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does Rothstein say the federal government had to play in segregating America’s housing?

2. What was the economic argument racist local governments used for restricting black families’ housing options?

3. What does Rothstein identify as the force that made blockbusting possible?

4. How did the government overcome expense as a barrier to home ownership under Hoover?

5. What does Rothstein cite as evidence that the government is obligated to remedy segregation?

6. What strategies would blockbusters use to create panic in white families?

7. Why does Rothstein say that he started his book in San Francisco Bay?

8. What was the Supreme Court’s logic when it upheld an exclusionary zoning ordinance in Arlington Heights, Chicago in 1977?

9. How does Rothstein say blacks were prevented from voting in South Carolina in 1876?

10. How does Rothstein say UCLA students in Westwood, near Los Angeles, got around their neighborhood’s racially restrictive covenants?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What topics would you like to research further, after reading The Color of Law? Describe why additional research or reading would be beneficial to an understanding of this book. Propose a list of articles or books you would read in order to get a better handle on The Color of Law.

Essay Topic 2

Would you recommend The Color of Law? For what purposes would you recommend The Color of Law, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

Essay Topic 3

Does Rothstein’s book benefit, or is it diminished, by Rothstein’s calm, academic tone? Would more anger or the presence of other emotions have helped him make his argument? Or would it have hurt the legitimacy of his thesis and evidence? For what audiences would a more emotional narrative be more appropriate?

(see the answer keys)

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