The Color of Law:
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation―that 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 segregation―the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments―that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day. Purchase on AMAZON, KINDLE, AUDIOBOOK
Detroit's Burwood Wall: Hatred & Healing in the West Eight Mile Community:
In 1941, a real estate developer in northwest Detroit faced a dilemma. He needed federal financing for white clients purchasing lots in a new subdivision abutting a community of mostly African Americans. When the banks deemed the development too risky because of potential racial tension, the developer proposed a novel solution. He built a six-foot-tall, one-foot-thick concrete barrier extending from Eight Mile Road south for three city blocks―the infamous Birwood Wall. It changed life in West Eight Mile forever. Gathering personal interviews, family histories, land records and other archival sources, author Gerald Van Dusen tells the story of this isolated black enclave that persevered through all manner of racial barriers and transformed a symbol of discrimination into an expression of hope and perseverance. Purchase on AMAZON
Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law:
Twenty million Americans participated in the racial justice demonstrations in 2020. Although many displayed "Black Lives Matter" window and lawn signs, few considered what could be done to redress inequality in their own communities. Page by page, Just Action offers programs that activists and their supporters can undertake in their communities to address historical inequities, providing bona fide answers, based on decades of study and experience, in a nation awash with speculative memes and internet theories. Purchase on AMAZON, AUDIOBOOK, KINDLE
