Summary

The preface opens by referencing recent events in segregated cities across the U.S. that have garnered national attention. Most people believe these neighborhoods are “de facto segregated” (vii), that is to say the segregation is the result of private choices, not explicit action or inaction of government. These de facto factors do not address all of the causes of segregation in American cities. Actions taken by all levels of government exacerbated and encouraged the practices that led to segregation. These actions taken by government are not de facto, rather they are de jure—intentional, and carried out through law and public policy.

Residential racial segregation by governments is a violation of the fifth, thirteenth, and fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Due to the Supreme Court’s rejection of an interpretation of the thirteenth amendment that excluded housing markets from...