Frank Stevenson Character Analysis in The Color of Law

An African American resident of Richmond, California, whose story Richard Rothstein tells in Chapter One as a way to illustrate and personalize the problem of residential segregation. Stevenson was born in a poor town in Louisiana and grew up working on his family’s farm, and then moved to Richmond to work at Ford Motor during World War II. As housing for African Americans was insufficient, at first Stevenson lived in unincorporated North Richmond, where public services were not even available. At Ford, Stevenson joined an “auxiliary” black chapter of the Boilermakers’ union, but received essentially no protection. However, he was lucky enough to keep his job after the war—he just had to figure out how to get to the new Ford plant being opened in Milpitas, an all-white town located an hour from his home. Because he could not move to Milpitas, he commuted every day from Richmond with a group of colleagues. This commute ate up much of Stevenson’s time, and he and his family were forced to continue living in Richmond’s relatively adverse conditions, despite his solid middle-class job. His daughters went to segregated schools with insufficient resources, and in part as a result, even his grandchildren have been unable to get higher education and are now confined to low-wage work. Stevenson’s story illustrates how de jure residential segregation disadvantages African Americans, regardless of their class status, and has lasting effects even a half-century after the Fair Housing Act technically outlawed it.

Frank Stevenson Character Timeline in The Color of Law

The timeline below shows where the character Frank Stevenson appears in The Color of Law. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation Theme Icon

Racism, Profit, and Political Gain Theme Icon

...in the Bay Area, and Rothstein tells its history through the experiences of resident Frank Stevenson. (full context)

Segregation and the Preservation of Racial Caste Theme Icon

In Part I of the chapter, Rothstein examines Mr. Stevenson’s life story in order to show how Richmond typifies American housing segregation. Born in a... (full context)

...and African American people, and the city’s populated expanded rapidly its black population increased 50-fold. Stevenson’s “seventh-grade education” was average among African American migrants to Richmond, who were “an elite” compared... (full context)

Separation of Powers, Legal Activism, and Minority Rights Theme Icon

...tenants of Richmond public housing.” While most African American people lived in public housing, many—like Stevenson—lived without public services in unincorporated North Richmond, and thousands more “remained in cardboard shacks, barns,... (full context)

When he arrived in Richmond during World War II, Frank Stevenson quickly found work at a Ford Motor auto manufacturing plant that was temporarily under government... (full context)

...jobs, move to “a segregated neighborhood north of San Jose,” or stay in faraway Richmond. Stevenson chose this last option, so he had to commute “more than an hour each way”... (full context)

In Part II of this chapter, Rothstein notes that, just a few years after Frank Stevenson moved to Richmond, the renowned writer Wallace Stegner moved near Milpitas, to teach at Stanford... (full context)

Rothstein recalls the story of Frank Stevenson, who was unable to reduce his commute time because the “FHA- and VA-insured subdivisions” sprouting... (full context)

...more skilled jobs. When he first moved to Richmond to work at the shipyard, Frank Stevenson couldn’t join the all-white Boilermakers’ union, so he joined the black “auxiliary union chapter[]” instead,... (full context)

In Part XI of the final chapter, Rothstein returns to the story of Frank Stevenson and his wife Rosa Lee, who ultimately raised their children in Richmond’s segregated school system.... (full context)