The Color of Law A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein (z-lib.org).epub

housing or low- and moderate-income subsidized housing. Because
Professor Boger’s purpose was not to challenge the de facto segregation
myth, he did not add that such reserved funds could also be used to subsidize
the middle-class or even affluent African Americans to reside in suburbs
they could not otherwise easily afford. But in view of the de jure origins of
suburban segregation, this too would be an appropriate use of the withheld
taxpayer deductions. Professor Boger’s proposal for a Fair Share Act is no
less timely today than when he first advanced it.
X
SUCCESSFUL CIVIL rights lawsuits have led to a few innovative programs that
integrate low-income families into middle-class neighborhoods. In 1995 the
American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland sued HUD and the Baltimore
Housing Authority because as these agencies demolished public housing
projects, they resettled tenants (frequently with Section 8 vouchers) almost
exclusively in segregated low-income areas. The lawsuit resulted in
commitments by the federal and local governments to support the former
residents in moving to high-opportunity suburbs. The authority now funds an
increased subsidy, higher than the regular Section 8 voucher amount, to
families that rent in nonsegregated communities throughout Baltimore
County and other nearby counties. Participants can use their vouchers in
neighborhoods where the poverty rate is less than 10 percent, the population
is no more than 30 percent African American or other minority, and fewer
than 5 percent of households are subsidized. The mobility program not only
places voucher holders in apartments; it also purchases houses on the open
market and then rents them to program participants. It provides intensive
counseling to the former public housing residents to help them adjust to their
new, predominantly white and middle-class environs. Counseling covers
topics such as household budgeting, cleaning and maintenance of appliances,
communicating with landlords, and making friends with neighbors.
Those who have participated in this Baltimore program left communities
with average poverty rates of 33 percent and found new dwellings where