Page 155 - 1619 Project Curriculum

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“In the end, Atlanta’s traffic is at a standstill because its attitude about transit is
at a standstill, too. Fifty years after its Interstates were set down with an eye to
segregation and its rapid-transit system was stunted by white flight, the city is
still stalled in the past.”

Key Names, James Baldwin, New Deal, public transit, redlining practices, segregation laws
Dates, and of the 1890s, urban renewal, white flight
Terms

Guiding 1. What policies contributed to neighborhood segregation in the U.S.?
Questions 2. How have transportation systems reinforced segregation?

10. “Undemocratic Democracy” by Jamelle Bouie (pages 50–55)

Excerpt “There is a homegrown ideology of reaction in the United States, inextricably
tied to our system of slavery. And while the racial content of that ideology has
attenuated over time, the basic framework remains: fear of rival political
majorities; of demographic ‘replacement’; of a government that threatens
privilege and hierarchy.”

Key Names, Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.), the black belt, concurrent majority, debt limit,
Dates, and fiscal responsibility, nullification, Populist Party
Terms

Guiding 1. According to the author, how do 19th century U.S. political movements
Questions aimed at maintaining the right to enslave people manifest in
contemporary political parties?

11. “Medical Inequality” by Linda Villarosa (pages 56–57)

Excerpt “The centuries-old belief in racial differences in physiology has continued to
mask the brutal effects of discrimination and structural inequities, instead
placing blame on individuals and their communities for statistically poor health
outcomes. Rather than conceptualizing race as a risk factor that predicts
disease or disability because of a fixed susceptibility conceived on shaky
grounds centuries ago, we would do better to understand race as a proxy for
bias, disadvantage and ill treatment. The poor health outcomes of black people,
the targets of discrimination over hundreds of years and numerous generations,
may be a harbinger for the future health of an increasingly diverse and unequal

These materials were created to support ​The 1619 Project​, published in ​The New York Times Magazine​ August
2019. You can find this and more educational resources at ​www.pulitzercenter.org/1619