This study examines the use of emergency management laws as a policy response to fiscal emergencies in urban areas. Focusing on one Midwestern Rust Belt state, we use a mixed methods approach – integrating chronology of legislative history, analysis of Census data, and an ethnographic case study – to examine the dynamics of emer- gency management laws from a social justice perspective. Analysis of Census data showed that emergency man- agement policies disproportionately affected African Americans and poor families. Analysis indicated that in one state, 51% of African American residents and 16.6% of Hispanic or Latinos residents had lived in cities that were under the governance of an emergency manager at some time during 2008–2013, whereas only 2.4% of the White population similarly had lived in cities under emergency management. An ethnographic case study high- lights the mechanisms by which an emergency manager hindered the ability of residents in one urban neighbor- hood, expected to host a large public works project, to obtain a Community Benefits Agreement intended to provide assistance to residents, most of whom were poor families with young children. We conclude with a dis- cussion of how emergency management laws may impact social service practice and policy practice in urban communities, framed from a social justice perspective. We argue that these are not race neutral policies, given clear evidence of race and ethnic disparities in their implementation.