Alisha Jarwala, attorney at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, spoke about the history of segregation in the nation’s capital and the legal battles that reshaped its neighborhoods during the Institute of Politics Policy and History’s (IPPH) “D.C. Divided: Segregation in the Nation’s Capital” panel.
The discussion, which took place on December 4, was the second installment in the U.S. Law & Race Initiative with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which seeks to deepen the national conversation on the legal history of race and racialization.
Alisha spoke about the NAACP’s legal strategy in in fighting racially restrictive covenants, focusing on a Washington, DC case called Hundley v. Gorewitz. Alisha previously explored this case in a Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review article titled, “The More Things Change: Hundley v. Gorewitz and ‘Change of Neighborhood’ in the NAACP’s Restrictive Covenant Cases.”
Alisha was joined by fellow panelists Jeffrey Gonda, author and historian; Jocelind Julien, a descendant of a family whose land was taken through eminent domain; and Valerie Schneider, Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law. The panel was moderated by public historian Sarah Shoenfeld, William G. Thomas III, the Dean of the College of Letters and Science at Montana State University, and former Washington, DC Mayor Sharon Pratt.
ABOUT ALISHA JARWALA
Alisha Jarwala joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy in June 2025. Before joining the firm, Alisha served as a trial attorney at the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she investigated and litigated complex Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act cases. She joined the Civil Rights Division through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Her matters included a sexual harassment in housing case in New Mexico and disability discrimination cases in Texas and Kansas. She also authored Statement of Interest briefs opposing discriminatory policies based on race and national origin, including exclusionary zoning practices. Learn more about Alisha.
ABOUT BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.