134: Richard and Leah Rothstein on Just Action and Property Rights Advocacy

Richard and Leah Rothstein join the podcast to discuss the history of government action that aided in the creation and enforcement of segregation in American Neighborhoods--and, importantly, what all citizens can do in their communities to undo those injustices.  Mr. Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, which recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation.  The book has almost 18,000 reviews and a 4.8 rating on Amazon. He is a graduate of Harvard University and previously served as the former national education columnist for The New York Times. Ms. Leah Rothstein also works on public policy and community change, from the grassroots to the halls of government. She led the Alameda County and San Francisco probation departments' research on reforming community corrections policy and practice to be focused on rehabilitation, not punishment. She has been a consultant to nonprofit housing developers, cities and counties, redevelopment agencies, and private firms on community development and affordable housing issues. Her policy work is informed by her years as a community organizer with PUEBLO and Californians for Justice, and as a labor organizer with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE).  Their new book, Just Action, discusses local and community initiatives that all citizens can take to begin remedying the wrongs of the past.  Other Links: Just Action on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Action-Challenge-Segregation-Enacted/dp/1324093242#customerReviews Just Action Book page with links and resources: https://www.justactionbook.org/