Common Ground Summer Book 2020

As you know, 2020 is a year of change. Many UW Impact advocates have read and listened along with our Common Ground summer media list over the past two summers. This year, we are pleased to replace our list with just one book.

We invite you to read The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, as part of the UW Alumni Association and UW Libraries’ Alumni Book Club. The Alumni Book Club is a self-paced literary educational experience with an online engagement component. We will read this book over a two-month span, in August and September.

A description of The Color of Law from the publisher: “In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation—that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, “The Color of Law” incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation—the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments—that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.”

No topic could be more important or more relevant, and “myth exploding” is exactly what we seek to do as part of our commitment to challenging our perspectives.

Join the community of the UW Alumni Book Club by signing up here. As a part of joining this digital experience you’ll receive regular communications to help you get the most of your reading experience, from suggested timelines to moderated online discussions.

We look forward to reading with you later this summer.