“Separate, Therefore Equal”: American Spatial Segregation from Jim Crow to Kiryas Joel

In rejecting Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” doctrine in Brown Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court created a presumption that segregation equals discrimination. However, alongside this assertion, American space has become increasingly separate. A socio-legal analysis identifies three generations spatial United States and calls for recognizing fourth generation—separate, therefore equal—in which minority communities require voluntary self-segregation to achieve equality. This generation separation requires law embrace protective role, by it will defend ability segregate spatially, autonomy individual community members, welfare society at large.