What's on your Monday Menu?

It still exists. They just use sophisticated algorithms instead of a red pen on a map. Very much like they do for congressional districts.

we're really not removed much from it at all! That's why you have things (in Chicago) like Austin on one side of Austin Blvd, and Oak Park on the other (my dad grew up in Austin). Austin was redlined - Oak Park was not. Redlining was a horrible policy and completely changed cities - not only did it segregate neighborhoods, but it started off the whole "white flight" movement out to the 'burbs. It'll take decades to get over that (and you're right that it still exists - but subtly. Things like realtors showing people property in only certain neighborhoods. Still happens)

I read a book about redlining in Chicago a couple of years ago - I'll go through the file cabinets in my brain and see if I come up with the title (can't remember it offhand)

P.S. one of the books I read was "Redlined" by Linda Gartz. She grew up in one of those westside neighborhoods (Garfield Park, maybe? Can't remember) where her father owned some apt buildings (and the family lived in one of the buildings). She talks about other things as well that were going on in her life - it's sort of a memoir - but also about the redlining that went on and how it affected their family.

there's another book, too, that I'll continue to search my brain for. I have a friend who's a history professor here, and her area is urban history. She's very interested in redlining and has done a lot of public presentations on it. Anyway, she's the one *****commended the book to me. If I can't remember the title, I'll ask her.

One I've read was Richard Rothstein's "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America." It's very good.

I looooooved "the color of law". Very eye opening.

We're a pretty messed up country. And you CHOSE to come here.

I had no choice. It's not like anyone has told me "Hey, come on over, move in."

Several reasons:

1) you could call me naive in the 90s

2) USA was the land of opportunities

3) the person I fell in love with lived here

4) I honestly didn't know about a lot of stuff going on. So after living here for a while I made it my mission to learn. At least now my eyes are open, or I would say I am open to other people's stories.
5) to be on the safe side both kids have dual citizenships so if they wanted to they could move to Europe and live there.

I think people who come here as adults are often more willing to look at the good and the bad.

For some reason there seems to be a mindset in some people that questions/criticizing = hating. But I very much believe in the "know better, do better" theory and you can't make better if you don't acknowledge the flaws. It's a bit like when I thought I was perfectly fine until my dr said "have you considered WLS"...and then I knew more, researched so I knew better and then I did better...just on a different level/aspect!

That's the way things ought to work, but usually don't.

One of the top people on my favorite historical figures list is Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. She spent her life trying to make other people's lives better. A month ago they finally put up a historical marker for her in New Hampshire. Two weeks later the state republican leadership had it taken down, saying she was anti American.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/15/metro/historical-mark er-elizabeth-gurley-flynn-concord-nh-has-been-removed/