The Kirkwood Public library will co-host back-to-back events focused on
the book “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government
Segregated America” by Richard Rothstein on Thursday, July 18,
beginning at 6:15 pm at the library, 140 E. Jefferson Ave.
Kirkwood Historical Society’s African-American History Committee has
arranged for Professor Emeritus Terry Jones of UMSL to speak on “The
Color of Law in St. Louis” as part of their Our Stories Lecture
Series at 6:15 pm. Immediately following the lecture, the Community for
Understanding and Hope Book Group will convene a discussion of the
book at their regular monthly meeting at 7:00 pm.
“The Color of Law” tells the history of the modern American city,
exploding the myth that racial segregation resulted from individual
choices. Segregation in the St. Louis region and around the country
resulted from laws and policies that were implemented by local, state,
and federal governments. Discriminatory patterns in housing and income
persist to the present day. Improvements in the future will be
achieved only after an understanding of how housing segregation was
established and maintained