Florence Wagman Roisman

Florence Wagman Roisman is an associate professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis. For many years, she was an attorney with the National Housing Law Project. In the following viewpoint, she discusses several of the pitfalls of racial segregation. “Race” has no biological basis, Roisman claims; it is simply a concept that has been used to grant ethnic groups high or low status in society. Therefore, she argues, labeling and separating people on the basis of race is intrinsically unjust. Racial segregation has resulted in the unfair treatment of members of low-status minority groups—and this in turn has led to poverty and an increase in violent crime. The 1960s’ ideal of racial integration deserves continuing support, Roisman concludes.

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