The Color of Law.

About The Color of Law

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America is a 2017 book by Richard Rothstein on the history of racial segregation in the United States. The book documents the history of state sponsored segregation stretching back to the late 1800s and exposes racially discriminatory policies put forward by most presidential administrations in that time, including liberal presidents like Franklin Roosevelt. The author argues that intractable segregation in America is primarily the result of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal levels, also known as de jure segregation — rather than the actions of individuals or private companies, or de facto segregation. Among other discussions, the book provides a history of subsidized housing and discusses the phenomena of white flight, blockbusting, and racial covenants, and their role in housing segregation. Rothstein wrote the book while serving as a research associate for the Economic Policy Institute, where he is now a Distinguished Fellow.