Licensing Laws: A Historical Example of the Use of Government Regulatory Power against African Americans

Authors

David E. Bernstein

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92107193.html

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This Article addresses how the legacy of government policy has been a large factor in the economic subjugation of black Americans between Reconstructionist and the modern Civil Rights era. Specifically, this Article displays how white interest groups used occupational licensing laws to stifle black economic progress, and how these laws were used to prevent blacks from competing with established white skilled workers. The author notes that Richard Epstein with his book Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws has done the legal community a great service by reminding it that the source of some of the economic disparity between whites and blacks is past government policy, not just private discrimination and social customs.

Recommended Citation

David E. Bernstein, Licensing Laws: A Historical Example of the Use of Government Regulatory Power against African Americans, 31 San Diego L. Rev. 89 (1994).
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol31/iss1/5