Sunday, April 14, 2019

New Short Film: Segregated by Design by Richard Rothstein

This short film was just released on August 8, 2019!!

"Segregated By Design" examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. This legacy of segregation in cities across the country (through a practice known as redlining) had deep social and economic repercussions on African Americans, in terms of where they could live, where they could attend school, and how they could generate wealth. The short film (about 18 minutes) is based on the best-selling book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein, by Richard Rothstein. The book is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local bookseller.

From Economic Policy Institute (EPI):

“Segregated by Design,” a short film based on The Color of Law by EPI distinguished fellow Richard Rothstein, examines the forgotten history of how federal, state, and local governments used law and policy to segregate every major metropolitan area in the U.S. The film illustrates how racially explicit, unconstitutional policies created patterns of residential segregation that persist today, driving Rothstein’s conclusion that we are obligated to remedy it. “Segregated by Design” premiered at the American Documentary Film Festival on March 29 in Palm Springs, California.


The key takeaway is that segregation was not by choice. Discriminatory public policies at the local, state and federal level forced African Americans to live in segregated neighborhoods not of their own choosing. This legacy has led to structural inequalities that persist to this day. Click here to watch the film.

NPR also created an excellent short video on the history of race and redlining in the United States:



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