Policies that Perpetuate Inequality

This book examines how “colorblind” policies perpetuate racial bias by masking the structural and systemic roots of inequality. Leland Ware critically examines the persistence of racial inequality in the United States despite landmark legal advancements, arguing that numerous policies obscure the structural forces that sustain segregation and disparity—particularly in education. Through analysis of the strategic use of racially coded political rhetoric and key Supreme Court rulings, Ware demonstrates how race-neutral frameworks often reinforce, rather than remediate, systemic inequity. For legal scholars, educators, sociologists, and political scientists, this work offers a reinterpretation of civil rights jurisprudence, a framework for addressing de facto segregation, and a vital lens through which to understand how racial resentment continues to shape policy and public discourse.