The Color of Social Security traces the myriad ways and interconnected social systems in which racism has been embedded into American social security programs. Drawing on American history, Jon Dubin exposes institutionalized processes undermining racially equitable receipt of retirement and disability benefits. Examples include the 1935 Social Security Act, which excluded Black agricultural and domestic workers in order to protect the postbellum Southern racial economic and political order; the 1972 Supplemental Security Income program's exclusion of persons of color in the U.S. territories, with genesis in 125 years of racialized colonial domination; 1980s criminal justice system restrictions; systemic racial bias in disability decisions in the 1990s; disability eligibility obstacles from “race-norming” in the 2000s; and the misevaluation of Black claimants with sickle cell disease under Social Security Administration regulations since 2015. While exploring these histories, Dubin offers concrete solutions to address racial inequity and create a more equitable future.

‘In The Color of Social Security, Jon Dubin offers a powerful reexamination of one of America’s most revered social welfare programs, revealing how race, disability, criminalization, and colonialism have shaped both its design and its outcomes. Through meticulous legal, historical, and policy analysis, the book exposes enduring structural inequities while making a compelling case for strengthening Social Security by confronting its racialized foundations and current disparities.’Deborah N. Archer, President of the ACLU and Margaret B. Hoppin Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

‘At a time when we are repeatedly whitewashing history, this trenchant analysis of racial exclusion and racialized disparate impacts in our quintessential, ninety-year-old, American social safety net – Social Security retirement and disability benefits – shows us how history can pave a road to real, practical, and equitable solutions.’Nancy Cantor, President and Professor of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY

‘In this meticulously researched and important book, Jon Dubin confronts the inequities built into the structure and policies of our nation's most important public benefit program. Dubin traces the role of race in the design and implementation of Social Security, and the failure of the program's benefits to inure equally to Black recipients and those from other marginalized groups. It is a stunning blueprint for reform of a program whose fate is much in the news, but whose origins, design, and effectiveness are rarely analyzed through the lens of the history of racial discrimination and white supremacy.’Sherrilyn A. Ifill, Vernon E. Jordan Jr. Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights, Howard Law School

‘Jon C. Dubin confronts the racial history and policy choices that have shaped Social Security from its inception to the present. With legal precision and historical depth, The Color of Social Security shows how legislative design and administrative practices – shaped by racialized political choices – produced unequal outcomes, and how reform can advance fairness and equal protection under the law.’Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, founder and CEO of Global Policy Solutions

‘Breathtaking in its command and nuanced interpretation of the Social Security Act, this book is indispensable for all concerned with social and racial justice, disability rights, and administrative law. It supplements the work of Dorothy Brown, Dorothy Roberts, Mel Oliver, Thomas Shapiro, Richard Rothstein, Jill Quadagno, and Mehrsa Baradaran.’Florence Wagman Roisman, William F. Harvey Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Professor, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

‘Professor Dubin’s compelling and invaluable analyses of institutional racism baked into the Social Security Act’s law, administration, and outcomes within our nation’s largest safety-net and adjudication system, illuminate hidden social welfare failings while mapping out reform measures for equitable economic support for all Americans.’Jonathan M. Stein, former Executive Director and General Counsel at Community Legal Services, Philadelphia

‘In The Color of Social Security, Jon Dubin delivers a rigorous and unflinching examination of how racial inequities have been embedded within the design, implementation, and administration of Social Security across generations. Through careful legal and historical analysis, he traces the structural decisions that have shaped disparities in retirement and disability benefits alike. Now, ninety years after the New Deal, and at a critical moment for Social Security, Dubin calls us to a necessary reckoning – challenging us not only to acknowledge this uncomfortable history, but to take responsibility for shaping the program’s future. When Franklin D. Roosevelt described Social Security as ‘a cornerstone in a structure that is by no means complete,’ he recognized that the system would require continued building and reform. The Color of Social Security offers a vital blueprint for that unfinished work – strengthening Social Security so that it more fully serves the dignity and economic security of all Americans.’Rebecca Vallas, CEO, National Academy of Social Insurance

‘As the federal government continues to ratchet up its assault on the social safety net in this country, and administration officials, courts, and political pundits try desperately to erase the sordid history of racism in the United States, The Color of Social Security serves as a powerful and much needed reminder of just how deeply our institutions have been permeated by the legacy of white supremacy.’Jason D. Williamson, Executive Director, National Center for Law and Economic Justice