The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

I finally picked up an industry favorite, the Color of Law, and never felt so many emotions at once. This book offers a historical perspective of America’s housing climate. If you are curious about how living in America has developed for people of color, this is a phenomenal book to read. I am bringing an in-depth review of this amazing book so that you may be inspired to read the whole book. 

The Color of Law explains the forgotten history of how our government segregated America. It begins in the summer of 1950; Americans were reeling over the news of North Korea's invasions into South Korea and Senator Joseph McCarthy's ever-growing "Red Hunt" in Washington. During all this, Time magazine ran a rather cheerful cover story that includes the nation's housing boom named "For Sale: A New Way of Life." It also featured the builder William Levit, who had recently transformed some Long Island potato fields into the starter homes' sprawling complex. These homes included two bedrooms, an extension attic of $7,990, and one bath. This spoke reverentially of the development's parks and playgrounds, and most housing rules we know today. 

One of the rules also was conveniently absent from the whole puzzle. In Levittown, homeowners were mostly forbidden to sell or rent to people "other than the member of the Caucasian race." At first sight, Levittown stood as a prime example of de facto segregation. This results from the private activity and de jure segregation that derives from government policy law. To most scholars and critics, this racial segregation of our most neighborhoods has been viewed as a manifestation of unscrupulous real estate agents, unethical mortgage lenders, and covenants working outside this law. 

The author is a former columnist of the New York Times and the research associate at the Economic Policy Institute and the Fellow at Thurgood Marshall Institute and Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The author, Rothstein, has spent many years documenting the government's evidence, not only ignored practices of discrimination in the residential sphere like redlining, white flight, and other discriminatory practices, but also proof of promoting the same tactics. The effect has been devastating for generations of African Americans who weren’t given the right to live where they desired or raise and educate their children where they could have access to more resources.

During the Fair Housing Act of 1968, modest enforcement was given to refrain from future discrimination. It also did nothing to undo a century’s worth of State-sanctioned violations of the Bill of Rights. It was particularly the 13th Amendment that banned treating the former slaves as second-class citizens. So, a structural condition is established in 20th-century federal policy that endures to the present day. At each step, Rothstein shows the courts and government upheld racist rules to maintain blacks' and whites' separation, which led to the social justice riots that also has defined Ferguson, Charleston, Baltimore, and Chicago. The Color of Law isn't a story of Red vs. Blue states. In fact, it is a sad story of America in all of its municipalities, large and small and liberal and reactionary. 

The main idea of his argument that calls for a fundamental reassessment of American constitutional law is that the Supreme Court has often failed for many years in understanding. It is an insightful and original explanation of how government policy in the United States has intentionally promoted and enforced residential racial partition. 

If you are willing to bring yourself into the world of reading and have been falling behind in doing so, then we have got you covered in the ROI project. The Avid Listener's Bookclub is created to read one book per month that can add value to your life, business, and relationships. Our goal is for members to generate a return on investment of time, energy, and resources with each title read! We cater to the audio listener; however, traditional readers who enjoy turning physical pages within a book are always welcome. You can start your avid reading time through this club and start capturing the essence of the world of books. We are very eager to have you join the movement.