In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that Americas cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregationthat is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregationthe laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governmentsthat actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
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