Racialized Housing in the United States
estimated time for this section: 1 hour minimum
Watch VIDEO: Segregated by Design
‘Segregated By Design’ examines the forgotten history of how [the United States'] federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. Prejudice can be birthed from a lack of understanding the historically accurate details of the past. Without being aware of the unconstitutional residential policies the United States government enacted during the middle of the twentieth century, one might have a negative view today of neighborhoods where African Americans live or even of African Americans themselves.
ACTIVITY: Mapping Inequality in the United States
Click on https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/ - Search for your current city in which you live (or if applicable, grew up in or currently work with). What was it rated by the U.S.'s Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) and why? What does this neighborhood look like today?
Reflection Questions:
- In reviewing the video and map, what are your personal reflections and takeaways?
- What was something new you learned or processed, whether it be about history, segregation, discrimination, and/or neighborhoods you have lived in/worked with?
- What other topics of research and practice are impacted by racialized policies, and how?
- What can Pratt GCPE and the curriculum's role be in a collective accountability towards racial/social equity? How is your class contributing to these efforts?
Additional Resources:
- See GCPE Social Justice Collection's keyword topics: Racism, Housing
- Visit native-land.ca and name whose land on which you grew up on and/or currently live