#1 in History
The Color of Law
- NYT bestseller · 7 weeks on the list, peaked at #5
- The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
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About the book
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.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.8 across 166 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 53% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the History average of 8.0. That is how 8.4 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 9.2 | 10 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.8 | 156 | 94% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — History — with scores between 8.2 and 8.4, closest to this book.
