Richard Rothstein

Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, whose groundbreaking research has transformed our understanding of racial segregation in America. His seminal work "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America" exposed how federal, state, and local policies explicitly created racially segregated neighborhoods across the nation. A former national education columnist for The New York Times, Rothstein has authored numerous influential books including "Class and Schools," "Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right," and most recently "Just Action" with Leah Rothstein. His expertise spans education policy, racial equity, and housing segregation, and he has held prestigious positions at the University of California, Berkeley's Warren Institute and Haas Institute. Through his research and writing, Rothstein has challenged prevailing narratives about housing segregation, demonstrating that it resulted from deliberate government policies rather than private choices, and his work continues to influence contemporary discussions about racial justice and urban policy