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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what way were African Americans still bought and sold even after the end of slavery?

2. What does Rothstein say was a quick and easy segregation problem to solve?

3. Who was the leader of the riot at Bill Myers’ house?

4. Why did Bob Jones University lose its tax-exempt status in 1976?

5. How does Rothstein say American wages changed between 1945 and 1973?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rothstein say federal policies actively injured black communities?

2. What steps does Rothstein say the real estate industry could take to remedy years of structural injustice?

3. What role did the federal government play in the riot outside Bill Myers’ house in Levittown in Pennsylvania?

4. What does Rothstein say caused the fire bombings in Chicago in 1919?

5. What is Rothstein’s first suggestion for reforming our country to address systemic racism?

6. What strategies does Rothstein say whites used to keep black wages down?

7. What does Rothstein say was the fate of George Romney’s attempts at integration in 1970?

8. How did cities use slum clearance as a justification for segregation?

9. How does Rothstein characterize the obstacles faced by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in desegregating Richmond, CA?

10. What effect does Rothstein say the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision have on housing segregation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a few places, Rothstein mentions prohibitions including not only African Americans but poor people and the Irish or other so-called undesirable groups of people. America also has a history of playing low-income people of different races against each other, in order to distract from the power of powerful men to exploit markets and workers. What would Rothstein’s book look like if it focused on class, in addition to race, to expose the degree to which it was not just whites who pushed for powerful segregation policies, but powerful whites, who used their authority against other white people to profit off of segregation? Where is the profit motive in segregation? How does our view of segregation change if we look at it as a phenomenon driven by economic class?

Essay Topic 2

How do you think The Color of Law would be different if it were centered on women’s experiences? How do you think you could approach the same content but tell the story from women’s point of view? How does the focus on men’s experiences change the narrative in The Color of Law?

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What can we tell about him, based on the choices he makes in terms of description, characterization and plot? What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

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