Patchwork Apartheid

The book delves into the historical impact of private racial restrictions on property ownership in American cities during the first half of the twentieth century. It highlights how these agreements shaped urban development and perpetuated social, political, and economic exclusion. Through extensive research in five Midwestern counties, the author uncovers the mechanisms of segregation prior to zoning laws and federal redlining. The narrative also examines how these restrictions evolved into subtle practices that continued to enforce segregation, revealing their lasting consequences on housing inequality and economic mobility today.