The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

New York Times Bestseller • Notable Book of the Year • Editors' Choice Selection
One of Bill Gates’ “Amazing Books” of the Year • One of Publishers Weekly’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction • An NPR Best Book of the Year • Winner of the Hillman Prize for Nonfiction • Gold Winner, California Book Award (Nonfiction) • Finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) • Finalist, Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize

This “powerful and disturbing history” (The New York Times Book Review) reveals how American governments—federal, state, and local—deliberately imposed racial segregation across metropolitan areas nationwide.

In The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein shatters the myth that segregation in America was merely the product of individual prejudice or market forces. Instead, he presents irrefutable evidence that it was government policy—through racial zoning, segregated public housing, whites-only suburbs, discriminatory mortgage programs, and even tax breaks for segregationist institutions—that shaped the racial divide in American cities and suburbs.

Widely hailed as “masterful” (The Washington Post) and “essential” (Slate), Rothstein’s groundbreaking work redefines our understanding of twentieth-century urban history. It challenges readers to confront the constitutional violations at the root of today’s housing inequality and compels us to pursue the remedies our history demands.

“Virtually indispensable... A forceful argument that transforms how we understand the American metropolis.” — Chicago Daily Observer

Includes 13 illustrations

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