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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Rothstein call the practice of demolishing black neighborhoods in order to make way for white families?
(a) Rezoning.
(b) Redistribution of real estate.
(c) Slum clearance.
(d) Eminent domain.

2. When does Rothstein say civil rights laws started to be passed in the U.S.?
(a) 1964.
(b) 1968.
(c) 1972.
(d) 1957.

3. What makes Rothstein say that real estate agents engaged in blockbusting were engaging in de jure segregation?
(a) They were appointed by the government.
(b) They swore an oath to uphold the non-discrimination local laws.
(c) They were advocating public policies that supported their trade.
(d) They were licensed by state real estate boards.

4. Why was Stuyvesant Town not integrated, even though New York state forced the development to admit African Americans?
(a) By the time the state won its case, the wait list was already full.
(b) The rents were too high for African-American families to afford.
(c) Black families refused to move there.
(d) Whites there threatened violence against black families.

5. What does Rothstein say the American government will have to address along with housing discrimination?
(a) Wage stagnation.
(b) Health care access.
(c) Educational opportunities.
(d) Business opportunities.

6. What was the main mechanism Rothstein says whites in power used to suppress black wages?
(a) Classifying their labor as exempt from wage regulation.
(b) Stealing their wages through sharecropping.
(c) Denying them access to skilled positions.
(d) Denying them access to union representation.

7. What does Rothstein say created the emotional time in which the Fair Housing Act was passed?
(a) The march in Selma.
(b) Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
(c) Robert Kennedy’s assassination.
(d) Rosa Parks’ bus protest.

8. How much did a Levittown house that cost $75,000 in 1947 cost in 2017 when Rothstein published The Color of Law?
(a) $300,000.
(b) $425,000.
(c) $200,000.
(d) $150,000.

9. In what way were African Americans still bought and sold even after the end of slavery?
(a) As prisoners.
(b) As communities.
(c) As serfs.
(d) As servants.

10. What does Rothstein say is one of the most common justifications for segregation?
(a) That black families cannot afford houses.
(b) That black families want to live together.
(c) That white families have irrational fears of black people.
(d) That white families will be violent if they are forced to integrate.

11. How does Rothstein say American histories typically tell the story of housing discrimination?
(a) They use euphemisms to paint a rosier picture.
(b) They cherry-pick stories of success and integration.
(c) They omit most of the details.
(d) They whitewash the systemic racism.

12. What did the development try to do to get Gary out of the development?
(a) Buy his house for more than he paid for it.
(b) Make him pay for his police protection.
(c) Turn off his electricity.
(d) Charge him extra for his water and sewer services.

13. Where was David Bohannon a developer after World War II?
(a) Tennessee.
(b) Georgia.
(c) New Jersey.
(d) California.

14. How does Rothstein say American wages changed between 1945 and 1973?
(a) Halved.
(b) Doubled.
(c) Quadrupled.
(d) Tripled.

15. What order does Rothstein say the police had been given in relation to the riot at Bill Myers’ house?
(a) To protect the family’s property.
(b) To ban the use of alcohol.
(c) To keep the protest peaceful.
(d) Not to interfere.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did planning officials characterize black neighborhoods when they were planning to demolish or appropriate them?

2. For whose sake does Rothstein say we should take responsibility for our history?

3. What was Houston’s “Race Restriction Areas” map used for?

4. Who does Rothstein say spread the word that Bill Myers, an African-American veteran, had moved into the Levittown in Pennsylvania?

5. What was the condition that led the FHA to finally back the UAW’s development in Milpitas?

(see the answer keys)

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