Racialized housing policies were in place in many U.S. cities for most of the 20th century, and the legacy persists. Redlining, urban renewal and an array of other policies shaped wealth and demographic patterns that inform how today’s cities look and run. Statistics paint a stark picture, but artists and scholars have also taken on the charge of humanizing the story.
WUNC 91.5 Radio “The State of Things,” host Frank Stasio previews two projects that use art to illuminate how discriminatory lending and residential segregation have influenced individuals in St. Louis, Missouri and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He talks to Mai Thi Nguyen about “In the Shadows of Ferguson,” a multimedia exhibit she co-created based on archival, historical and qualitative research in St. Louis. Nguyen is an associate professor of city and regional planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The exhibit traces historical trends and looks at present-day efforts to promote sustainable growth and maintain affordable housing.
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Host Frank Stasio talks with associate professor Mai Thi Nguyen about ‘In the Shadows of Ferguson,’ a multimedia exhibit she co-created and Maggie West, co-founder and former co-director of Chapel Hill’s Community Empowerment Fund, about the new project: ‘Affordable Housing: The Musical.’ They are joined by choreographer George Barrett, music director Christian Foushee-Green and performers Chinita Howard, Artis Swann and Synthia Bethea for a preview of ‘Affordable Housing: The Musical.’