Dividing Lines

How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality

By: Deborah N. Archer

Narrated by: Diana Blue

Our nation's transportation system is crumbling. But as acclaimed scholar and ACLU president Deborah Archer warns in Dividing Lines, before we can think about rebuilding and repairing, we must consider the role race has played in transportation infrastructure, from the early twentieth century and into the present day.

As Archer demonstrates, the success of the Civil Rights movement and the fall of Jim Crow in the 1960s did not mean the end of segregation. With state-sanctioned racism no longer legal, officials across the country turned to transportation infrastructure to keep Americans divided. A wealthy white neighborhood could no longer be "protected" by racial covenants and segregated shops, but a multilane road, with no pedestrian crossings, could be built along its border to make it difficult for people from a lower-income community to visit. Highways could not be routed through Black neighborhoods based on the race of their residents, but those neighborhoods' lower property values—a legacy of racial exclusion—could justify their destruction.

Drawing on a wealth of sources, including interviews with people who now live in the shadow of highways and other major infrastructure projects, Archer presents a sweeping, national account—from Atlanta and Houston to Indianapolis and New York City—of our persistent divisions.

©2025 Deborah N. Archer (P)2025 Kalorama

WOW I learned so much!

This book is solidly grounded in historical research and makes visible so many connections across issues and levels of government. It also goes all the way to current decisions unfolding now. I haven’t been able to stop talking about it since I Strom Thurmond story in the introduction. I want all of my elected officials to read it! And it’s well written, including just enough storytelling to illustrate the points and keep the people centered in the conversation. SO GOOD!

Jim Crow in asphalt

A historically accurate. brutal recitation of how the USA has used roads to reinforce segregation. it was hard to listen to; I became emotional several times while listening. I have new respect for Mayor Pete Buddegieg after hearing how Indianapolis worked to repair some of the damage.