I recently completed the book titled, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, written by Richard Rothstein. If you have not read the book, I encourage you to do so. After reading this book in its entirety, I am more than confident in the assertion that we can trace most of the structural racism in our current American systems to the policies and practices birthed during the era of segregation in this country.
The United States Constitution (US Constitution) is historically and unequivocally the established supreme law of the land. The first three articles of the US Constitution dutifully outline the structure, roles, and requirements associated with serving in the three primary branches of government. The balance of power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is strategically explained in this document and the relationships between the federal government and states. Guidelines for future ratifications to the original articles and Bill of Rights Amendments have visibly been steering this county for more than 200 years. Unfortunately, the original authors of the US Constitution and subsequent forefathers of this country wrote these documents to the exclusion of civil liberties for women, Native American/Indigenous groups, and enslaved African Americans.
The Color of Law masterfully and factually confirms that although this country was fashioned to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, the Constitutional articles and Bill of Rights did not apply to all populations. The articles and amendments outlined in these documents have been subject to bias interpretation throughout the history of this country. Despite the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to ratify these deleterious practices, the US government reinforced structures of oppression. It remained complicit in the advancement of systems and policies that intentionally disadvantaged anyone or anything that didn’t align with the values of White supremacy. The lines of de facto and de jure segregation remain blurred in many facets of our society.
In the paraphrased words of Dr. Camara Jones, “racism is a system of power that structures opportunity (education, housing, jobs, justice) and assigns a value (worthy or unworthy, full of potential or full of menace) based on the social interpretation of how one looks (which is what we call “race”).” The ideological root of racism unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, creates vast advantages for others, and surreptitiously saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.
The history of US government-sponsored and sanctioned segregation is quite sobering yet not surprising as it is unpacked in the first several chapters of the Color of Law. While the book focuses on the sickening practices of housing segregation across the country, we see how the lack of access to quality housing impacts so many other quality of life outcomes (e.g., education, built environment, wealth accumulation, stable income, access to healthcare, financial literacy, etc.). Looking beyond some of these determinants of health, the trauma associated with repeat experiences of discrimination wreak havoc on the mental, physical, and spiritual health of individuals, families, and communities.
I am motivated by the incremental shifts that we’ve seen in many federal systems (e.g., FHA, HUD, etc.) and financial institutions (e.g., banks, insurance companies, mortgage brokers, etc.) to combat these violent practices against minority communities. I hope that we begin to see significant headway in meeting our Constitutional obligations to avoid any policies, practices, or systems that reflect the badges of slavery, fail to protect the civil rights of marginalized populations, and create barriers that prevent the full civic engagement of US citizens – regardless of race, color, gender, or class. Accountability and integrity have been missing from the heart of this country for far too long. May we continue to shift as a nation with renewed movements for racial and health equity. When the least of these among us flourish, we all flourish! Maybe this country will get off its high horse of American exceptionalism and answer that clarion call one day.
I will share more of my thoughts in a forthcoming blog post entry…
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