The Color of Law

The Color of Law

by

Richard Rothstein

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Color of Law makes teaching easy.
An official designation by the IRS that reduces or completely eliminates an organization’s obligations to pay taxes to the government. This status is intended to help charitable, religious, and other not-for-profit organizations, and in theory the IRS is legally required to deny tax-exempt status to “discriminatory organizations.” However, the IRS made an exception for organizations that promoted housing segregation and discrimination against African Americans, and virtually always preserved these organizations’ tax-exempt status during the 20th century.
Get the entire The Color of Law LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Color of Law PDF

Tax-exempt status Term Timeline in The Color of Law

The timeline below shows where the term Tax-exempt status appears in The Color of Law. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7: IRS Support and Compliant Regulators
De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation Theme Icon
Rothstein notes that the IRS contributed to the segregation of American cities by selectively “grant[ing] tax-exempt status to churches, hospitals, universities, neighborhood associations, and other groups” and supporting discriminatory banks and... (full context)
De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation Theme Icon
Racism, Profit, and Political Gain Theme Icon
Separation of Powers, Legal Activism, and Minority Rights Theme Icon
...v. Board of Education. In an important 1983 case, the Supreme Court examined whether giving “tax-exempt status to racially discriminatory schools” violated the Fifth Amendment. The Court ultimately decided the case... (full context)
Racism, Profit, and Political Gain Theme Icon
...and funded the eviction of black families from their neighborhoods. And all these organizations remained tax-exempt. (full context)
Epilogue
De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation Theme Icon
Segregation and the Preservation of Racial Caste Theme Icon
Separation of Powers, Legal Activism, and Minority Rights Theme Icon
...promoted “exclusionary zoning laws” that led to white flight. It has supported builders, lenders, and tax-exempt organizations in their successful discrimination against African American people. It has encouraged white mob violence... (full context)