The hidden history behind segregated cities

RICHMOND — The process that led to segregated cities is not what most people think. That’s the contention of author Richard Rothstein, who will present his case at a free talk.

“The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” is the title of both the talk and the 2017 book by Rothstein that is a nonfiction finalist for the National Book Award.

“In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Rothstein explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided as the result of individual prejudices, personal choices to live in same-race neighborhoods, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies,” notes an announcement from the Richmond Museum of History and the Richmond Public Library, which are hosting the talk.

“Rather, ‘The Color of Law’ uncovers a forgotten history of how racially explicit policies of federal, state, and local governments created the patterns of residential segregation that persist to this day. ‘The Color of Law’ concludes that because residential segregation was created by government action in violation of the constitution, we are obligated to remedy it.”

Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and at the Haas Institute and the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at UC Berkeley.

Admission to the talk is free and an RSVP can be made at www.eventbrite.com/e/richard-rothstein-the-color-of-law-tickets-41720558313.