‘Dividing Lines’: Want to know more about Norfolk’s history of segregation? Here’s a reading list.

Since The Virginian-Pilot began publishing its “Dividing Lines” series looking at segregation in Norfolk, we’ve gotten one question a lot: “What can I read to learn more about this?”

Below are some of the books and articles that have helped us learn about the subject, organized roughly by the time periods each is focused on. We also recommend looking through a reading list created by the Urban Renewal Center in Norfolk, which you can see at TheURCNorfolk.com/research.

To read our Dividing Lines project so far, go to PilotOnline.com/dividinglines. And keep reading — there’s more to come.

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In Their Own Interests: Race, Class, and Power in Twentieth-Century Norfolk, Virginia

This book, by historian Earl Lewis, looks at how Black Norfolk residents advocated for equality in the years following the Civil War through the end of World War II. It covers a time opportunities for Black residents expanded and then contracted after backlash from white residents.

Residential Segregation in Norfolk, Virginia: How the Federal Government Reinforced Racial Division in a Southern City, 1914-1959

This thesis, by naval officer Kevin Lang Ringlestein, looks at Norfolk beginning in the first year of an ordinance imposing residential segregation. It shows how federally funded public housing projects were used to justify the destruction of integrated neighborhoods with the ultimate goal of solidifying housing and school segregation.

Black, White and Brown: The Battle for Progress in 1950s Norfolk

This book, by local historian Forrest “Hap” White, looks at how housing and school segregation policy collided together in the 1950s as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Elusive Equality: Desegregation and Resegregation in Norfolk’s Public Schools

This book, written by Charles Ford, a Norfolk State University professor, and Jeffrey Littlejohn, an associate professor at Sam Houston State University, looks at the most well-known fight around desegregation, Massive Resistance, but also what came before and after.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

This book, by author Richard Rothstein, gives an overview of the national government policies and decisions that segregated the country. It explores redlining, where Black neighborhoods were cut off from loans and other forms of investment, as well as racial covenants, where restrictions were placed on who could — and could not — buy homes.

Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities

This book, by Jessica Trounstein, explores the ways in which local governments can contribute to segregation — in particular how land use authority perpetuates race and class division.

Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown v. Board of Education

This book, by school desegregation researchers Gary Orfield and Susan Eaton, features essays exploring the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education across the country. One chapter’s focus is Norfolk’s decision in the 1980s to return to neighborhood elementary schools and the resulting resegregation that followed, virtually immediately.