Wed October 10, 2018
The Color of Law with Richard Rothstein: Discussion & Book Signing
SEE EVENT DETAILS
Join Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, for a discussion on the racist history of housing in the United States, followed by Q&A and a book signing.
Doors at 6:30pmProgram starts at 7:00pmBook Signing 8:15-8:45pm
Hosted by Mission YIMBY at the historic Brava Theater in the Mission.
The Color of Law documents how American cities, from San Francisco to Boston, became so racially divided, as federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation, with:
undisguised racial zoning,
public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities,
subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs,
tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation,
official support for violent resistance to african americans in white neighborhoods,
state licensing of real estate brokers whose code prohibited racial mixing,
state and federal court orders evicting african americans who moved to white neighborhoods,
routing of highways to separate african american and white neighborhoods
These policies were supplemented by racially purposeful government programs that depressed African American incomes, making escape nearly impossible from neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage. Properties in African American neighborhoods frequently had higher assessed-to-market-value ratios, resulting in higher property tax payments. The federal government certified unions that excluded African Americans from membership, denying them full participation in the economic boom that followed World War II.
Such programs still influence tragedies in places like Ferguson and elsewhere. Scholars have separately described many of these policies; The Color of Law uniquely brings them together to show how they interacted to create a powerful system of residential segregation in every metropolitan area.
Under our legal system, it is difficult if not impossible to design effective policies to integrate the nation, because we are hobbled by the notion that our segregation is “de facto,” arising from private discrimination, personal choices, and the unintended consequences of economic forces. But once we understand that our racial landscape has been created and maintained “de jure,” by governmental law and policy, we can engage in a national conversation to design remedies.
We could, for example, prohibit suburbs from maintaining zoning that prohibits affordable housing, like modest single family homes, town-houses, or apartments. We could require that all new development be mixed-income. For lower-income families hoping to move to integrated neighborhoods, we could prohibit landlords from discriminating against “Section 8” voucher families and adjust voucher administration to make them affordable in middle-class communities. Such policies are not only feasible, but in the context of our shameful history, constitutionally required.
show less
Doors at 6:30pmProgram starts at 7:00pmBook Signing 8:15-8:45pm
Hosted by Mission YIMBY at the historic Brava Theater in the Mission.
The Color of Law documents how American cities, from San Francisco to Boston, became so racially divided, as federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation, with:
undisguised racial zoning,
public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities,
subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs,
tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation,
official support for violent resistance to african americans in white neighborhoods,
state licensing of real estate brokers whose code prohibited racial mixing,
state and federal court orders evicting african americans who moved to white neighborhoods,
routing of highways to separate african american and white neighborhoods
These policies were supplemented by racially purposeful government programs that depressed African American incomes, making escape nearly impossible from neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage. Properties in African American neighborhoods frequently had higher assessed-to-market-value ratios, resulting in higher property tax payments. The federal government certified unions that excluded African Americans from membership, denying them full participation in the economic boom that followed World War II.
Such programs still influence tragedies in places like Ferguson and elsewhere. Scholars have separately described many of these policies; The Color of Law uniquely brings them together to show how they interacted to create a powerful system of residential segregation in every metropolitan area.
Under our legal system, it is difficult if not impossible to design effective policies to integrate the nation, because we are hobbled by the notion that our segregation is “de facto,” arising from private discrimination, personal choices, and the unintended consequences of economic forces. But once we understand that our racial landscape has been created and maintained “de jure,” by governmental law and policy, we can engage in a national conversation to design remedies.
We could, for example, prohibit suburbs from maintaining zoning that prohibits affordable housing, like modest single family homes, town-houses, or apartments. We could require that all new development be mixed-income. For lower-income families hoping to move to integrated neighborhoods, we could prohibit landlords from discriminating against “Section 8” voucher families and adjust voucher administration to make them affordable in middle-class communities. Such policies are not only feasible, but in the context of our shameful history, constitutionally required.
Join Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, for a discussion on the racist history of housing in the United States, followed by Q&A and a book signing.
Doors at 6:30pmProgram starts at 7:00pmBook Signing 8:15-8:45pm
Hosted by Mission YIMBY at the historic Brava Theater in the Mission.
The Color of Law documents how American cities, from San Francisco to Boston, became so racially divided, as federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation, with:
undisguised racial zoning,
public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities,
subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs,
tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation,
official support for violent resistance to african americans in white neighborhoods,
state licensing of real estate brokers whose code prohibited racial mixing,
state and federal court orders evicting african americans who moved to white neighborhoods,
routing of highways to separate african american and white neighborhoods
These policies were supplemented by racially purposeful government programs that depressed African American incomes, making escape nearly impossible from neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage. Properties in African American neighborhoods frequently had higher assessed-to-market-value ratios, resulting in higher property tax payments. The federal government certified unions that excluded African Americans from membership, denying them full participation in the economic boom that followed World War II.
Such programs still influence tragedies in places like Ferguson and elsewhere. Scholars have separately described many of these policies; The Color of Law uniquely brings them together to show how they interacted to create a powerful system of residential segregation in every metropolitan area.
Under our legal system, it is difficult if not impossible to design effective policies to integrate the nation, because we are hobbled by the notion that our segregation is “de facto,” arising from private discrimination, personal choices, and the unintended consequences of economic forces. But once we understand that our racial landscape has been created and maintained “de jure,” by governmental law and policy, we can engage in a national conversation to design remedies.
We could, for example, prohibit suburbs from maintaining zoning that prohibits affordable housing, like modest single family homes, town-houses, or apartments. We could require that all new development be mixed-income. For lower-income families hoping to move to integrated neighborhoods, we could prohibit landlords from discriminating against “Section 8” voucher families and adjust voucher administration to make them affordable in middle-class communities. Such policies are not only feasible, but in the context of our shameful history, constitutionally required.
read more
Doors at 6:30pmProgram starts at 7:00pmBook Signing 8:15-8:45pm
Hosted by Mission YIMBY at the historic Brava Theater in the Mission.
The Color of Law documents how American cities, from San Francisco to Boston, became so racially divided, as federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation, with:
undisguised racial zoning,
public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities,
subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs,
tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation,
official support for violent resistance to african americans in white neighborhoods,
state licensing of real estate brokers whose code prohibited racial mixing,
state and federal court orders evicting african americans who moved to white neighborhoods,
routing of highways to separate african american and white neighborhoods
These policies were supplemented by racially purposeful government programs that depressed African American incomes, making escape nearly impossible from neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage. Properties in African American neighborhoods frequently had higher assessed-to-market-value ratios, resulting in higher property tax payments. The federal government certified unions that excluded African Americans from membership, denying them full participation in the economic boom that followed World War II.
Such programs still influence tragedies in places like Ferguson and elsewhere. Scholars have separately described many of these policies; The Color of Law uniquely brings them together to show how they interacted to create a powerful system of residential segregation in every metropolitan area.
Under our legal system, it is difficult if not impossible to design effective policies to integrate the nation, because we are hobbled by the notion that our segregation is “de facto,” arising from private discrimination, personal choices, and the unintended consequences of economic forces. But once we understand that our racial landscape has been created and maintained “de jure,” by governmental law and policy, we can engage in a national conversation to design remedies.
We could, for example, prohibit suburbs from maintaining zoning that prohibits affordable housing, like modest single family homes, town-houses, or apartments. We could require that all new development be mixed-income. For lower-income families hoping to move to integrated neighborhoods, we could prohibit landlords from discriminating against “Section 8” voucher families and adjust voucher administration to make them affordable in middle-class communities. Such policies are not only feasible, but in the context of our shameful history, constitutionally required.
show less
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