Friday, January 26, 2018

Racism and US Law: Intended Consequences

In the Nov. 8, 2017 Christian Century, there is a book review of The Color of Law; reviewed by Shana L. Haines.  The following is the first paragraph of the review:

"The law has never been blind.  In fact, when it comes to race and segregation, the law has often done more harm to African American residential communities than racist customs and traditions have.  And it has done so intentionally.  Richard Rothstein, an expert on race, education, and social policy at the Economic Policy Institute, details what the African  African community has always known about residential segregation, shoddy housing and schools, and lack of meaningful job opportunities.  He reveals how the consequences of residential segregation from the 1920s to today have been legal, intentional, and long-lasting."

By contrast, "the suburbs [aided by federal government subsidies] laid down the welcome mat to white families."

The whole criminal justice system along with the culture at large and the thundering silence of most of the church combined to continue the racialized oppression of blacks and all other ethnic groups.


A similar critique of American law is found in the book review of Hitler's American Model authored by James Whitman, reviewed by Ira Katznelson ( November 2017, The Atlantic).  The Review is titled "What America Taught the Nazis."

In the 1930s, 45 Nazi lawyers came to New York to "gain special insight into the workings of American [racial] law. . . .  the leader of the group was Ludwig Fischer.  As the governor of the Warsaw District half a decade later, he would preside over the brutal order of the ghetto."

Whitman states "that the Nuremberg Laws themselves reflect direct American influence."

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