Harvard Book Store Presents:

Leah and Richard Rothstein

presenting

Just Action:
How to Challenge Segregation
Enacted Under the Color of Law

in conversation with TANISHA SULLIVAN

Harvard Book Store welcomes RICHARD ROTHSTEIN—author of The Color of Law—and activist LEAH ROTHSTEIN for a discussion of their new book Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law. They will be joined in conversation by TANISHA SULLIVAN, President of the NAACP, Boston Branch.

A Return to In-Person Events

Harvard Book Store is excited to be back to in-person programming. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in attendance, the following Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place at all of our Brattle Theatre events until further notice:

• Face coverings are required of all staff and attendees when inside the venue. Masks must snugly cover nose and mouth. At venues where refreshments are served, attendees may briefly unmask when actively eating or drinking.
• To limit contact, books will be pre-signed by the author and can be purchased on-site at the event, while supplies last.

Ticketing

There are two ticket options available for this event.

Book-Included Ticket: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law signed by the authors.

Admission-Only Ticket: Includes admission for one.

About Just Action

In the six years since its initial publication, The Color of Law, “the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation” (William Julius Wilson), has become a landmark work, which―through its nearly one million copies sold―has helped to define the fractious age in which we live. Aware that twenty-first-century segregation continues to promote entrenched inequality, Richard Rothstein has now teamed with housing policy expert Leah Rothstein to write Just Action, a blueprint for concerned citizens and community leaders. This book describes dozens of activities that readers and supporters can undertake in their own communities to make their commitment real, producing victories that might finally challenge residential segregation and help remedy America’s profoundly unconstitutional past.

Praise for Just Action

“Historian Richard Rothstein, whose book The Color of Law exposed how federal, state, and local laws have perpetuated segregation, teams with his daughter, community organizer and housing-policy expert Leah Rothstein, to argue forcefully that residential segregation underlies the nation’s social problems . . . A thoughtful, pragmatic manual for reform.” ― Kirkus Reviews

“[An] impassioned guide to ending residential segregation in America . . . Throughout, inspiring stories of people uniting to preserve their communities and redress segregation are interwoven with nitty-gritty policy details. It’s a comprehensive and inspiring guide to solving a pressing social problem.” ― Publishers Weekly

Leah Rothstein

Leah Rothstein is co-authoring, with Richard Rothstein, a sequel to The Color of Law Leah has worked 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 policy, practice, and finance. Her policy work is informed by her years as a community organizer with PUEBLO and Californians for Justice, working on housing, public safety, environmental justice, and youth leadership, and as a labor organizer with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE).

Photo Credit: Michelle Poulin

 

Richard Rothstein

Richard Rothstein is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. A Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute, the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and of the Haas Institute at the University of California (Berkeley). In addition to his recent book, The Color of Law, he is the author of many other articles and books on race and education, which can be found at his web page at the Economic Policy Institute: http://www.epi.org/people/richard-rothstein/. Previous influential books include Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Improvement to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap, and Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right.

Photo Credit: Judy Licht

 

Tanisha M. Sullivan, Esq.

Tanisha M. Sullivan, Esq. is an award winning civic, legal and business leader with over 25 years of experience in the life sciences and biotech industries. Currently, Ms. Sullivan is Head of External Engagement and Strategic Partnerships for Sanofi. Committed to public service, from 2013- 2015, Ms. Sullivan served in a cabinet level position with the Boston Public Schools as its inaugural Chief Equity Officer. Ms. Sullivan is serving her third term as president for the NAACP Boston Branch, a volunteer led organization advancing the mission of the national NAACP. Over the past six years, Ms. Sullivan has built a reputation as an impact-driven leader focused on innovative policies that advance racial, economic, and social justice in communities across Massachusetts.