There has not been a single time in the entirety of the 20th century - when real estate became one of the most powerful sectors of the US economy - that the real estate industry, whether its brokers, builders or bankers, have not relied of racial discrimination to enhance its bottom line. And it's not just a historical relic, these are practices that continue to this very day, and they're able to continue because the federal government has no commitment to enforcing civil rights law.

African American studies scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor examines the mechanism of racism in the American real estate industry - as post-1968 public policies pushed Black renters and homeowners into a racially stratified, predatory housing market without Civil Rights protection, a predatory inclusion took shape, funneling wealth into private industry and foreclosing the futures of Black families for decades to come.

Keeanga is author of the book Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership from University of North Carolina Press.