The average White household in the U.S. today has amassed about seven times more wealth than the average Black household. The disparity widened in the half-century since the civil rights movement, despite a wave of laws protecting against racial discrimination at work, in housing and other economic realms. A wave of protests in U.S. cities last year provoked by police killings of Black citizens, including George Floyd on May 25, raised awareness of the history of what academics call systemic racism. Since then, two cities have voted to make reparations for past discrimination, President Joe Biden has supported the idea of studying wider reparations for slavery, and the Federal Reserve and a number of leading private banks have pledged to do more to address racial inequality.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with writer Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor about the racist real estate practices that ensured wealth accumulated along racial lines, even after housing discrimination became illegal.

Childhood Asthma: A Lingering Effect of Redlining

New research shows that disparities in housing contribute to disparities in one of the most common chronic diseases afflicting children.

Kriston Capps, City Lab, May 23, 2019. Available here

The Not-So Hidden Truths About the Segregation of America’s Housing, Keli A. Tianga, ShelterForce, May 22, 2018, available here

Video: Housing Segregation in Everything, Maria Paz Gutierrez, Gene Demby, and Kara Frame, NPR Code Switch, April 11, 2018, available here

How the Fair Housing Act Failed Black Homeowners, Kriston Capps and Kate Rabinowitz, City Lab, April 11, 2018, available here

A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America, Terry Gross, NPR, May 3, 2017, available here

How A Half Century Of Redlining Successfully Segregated American Neighborhoods, Ofo Ezeugwu, Huffington Post, March 17, 2017, available here

The History of Redlining in Connecticut and the Country, Andrew Ba Tran, TrendCT, October 27, 2016, available here