Reproducing Racism

Starred review from December 15, 2013
The racial inequality that grew out of slavery and Jim Crow laws went beyond individual mistreatment of black Americans, resulting in a systematic cartel of whites operating to secure advantages for themselves, significant advantages that have continued to this day, argues legal scholar Roithmayr. Drawing on the work of economist Glenn Loury, Roithmayr details the feedback loops in family, social, neighborhood, and institutional networks that are locked in and benefit whites and disadvantage racial minorities. Roithmayr cites case studies, including the use of restrictive covenants in Chicago that helped to maintain residential segregation and the private preprimary election used to disenfranchise black voters in Texas, to illustrate how laws and customs have made racism systemic, so deeply embedded that even when individuals are not biased, the system itself is. Comparing racial advantage to the tactics of monopolies like AT&T and Microsoft, she explores how access to wealth, better housing, education, and social contacts have guaranteed better prospects for whites, an advantage that is now locked in and will continue into the future unless the cartel is dismantled. This is a well-researched and thought-provoking analysis of the legacy and complexity of racism that has broad implications for American politics and social policies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)