Richard Rothstein to Speak at Washington Conference

NAHRO is thrilled to announce that Dr. Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, will be speaking at a special session of our 2021 Online Washington Conference on Thursday, March 4, 1-2 p.m. EST.

Racial segregation characterizes every metropolitan area in the U.S. and bears responsibility for our most serious social and economic problems – it corrupts our criminal justice system, exacerbates economic inequality, and produces large academic gaps between white and African American schoolchildren. We’ve taken no serious steps to desegregate neighborhoods, however, because we are hobbled by a national myth that residential segregation is de facto—the result of private discrimination or personal choices that do not violate constitutional rights. The Color of Law demonstrates, however, that residential segregation was created by racially explicit and unconstitutional government policy in the mid-twentieth century that openly subsidized whites-only suburbanization in which African Americans were prohibited from participating. Only after learning the history of this policy can we be prepared to undertake the national conversation necessary to remedy our unconstitutional racial landscape. This session is for conference attendees only.

Also don’t miss the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Roundtable 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. on March 2. It will feature members of NAHRO’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and invited guest speakers addressing timely topics. There will be opportunities for audience participation.

Both sessions are for conference attendees only.