“Manhattan is one of the most diverse places in the world. When you walk down its streets, you see people of all races and national origins and hear people speaking hundreds of languages. But the reality is that when most people go home at night in New York City, they go home to segregated neighborhoods. New York City is the third most segregated city for blacks in the US and the second most segregated city for Asian Americans and Latinos.” - Fred Freiberg, executive director and co-founder of the Fair Housing Justice Center
This segregation is not by accident. It is the result of unconstitutional policies pursued in the twentieth century by government officials. As Richard Rothstein writes in The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, “We have created a caste system in this country, with African Americans kept exploited and geographically separate by racially explicit government policies. Although most of these policies are now off the books, they have never been remedied and their effects endure.”
According to the NYC Health, “Since the 1600s—when NYC was established by colonization—racist policies and practices have shaped where New Yorkers live and go to school, what jobs they have and what their neighborhoods look like. Over time, these policies and practices have built on each other to create deep inequity.”
One of the best examples of discriminatory government policy is redlining. Throughout the 1930s, neighborhoods in over 239 American cities were rated on their "creditworthiness and risk.” Neighborhoods that were considered optimal or good for investment were outlined in green and blue. Neighborhoods seen to be in decline were coded yellow. Neighborhoods that were home to "foreign-born people” "low-class whites,” and “negroes” were seen as “hazardous” and outlined in red on a map. Residents were denied home loans and redlined communities were denied investments.
Over 50 years since the Fair Housing Act banned redlining, the “hazardous” warnings appear to be literally true. Decades of denying resources have led to vast disparities in wealth, health, housing, education, and in exposure to pollution, violence, and experiences with the criminal justice system across different neighborhoods in New York City. Living in certain zip codes expands opportunity while living in others diminishes it.
"Segregated by Design” challenges us to confront the ongoing legacy of segregation across different zip codes in New York City and lifts up the work of those working to end it and remedy its consequences.
It was created by students from New York City High Schools who took part in the 2019 UNIS Human Rights Project and builds on the work of 2017 and 2018 participants who studied disparities in health, housing, and the criminal justice system.
The project is the culmination of training in human rights, advocacy, photography, oral history and three intensive weeks traveling throughout the city to meet with academics, community organizers and activists working to end segregation in housing, healthcare, the criminal justice system, and education.
We believe that human rights should not be determined by a person’s zip code and that no one should be segregated from resources and opportunities. We also believe that photos and stories are powerful tools for social justice. Through this project, we hope to raise awareness of the harms caused by the city’s persistent segregation and advocate for policies that will advance opportunities for all.
The project was inspired by Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America and made possible thanks to a generous grant from Teaching Tolerance.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR PROGRAM
AIRnyc
Catholic Migration Services
Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA)
Designing the WE
Fair Housing Justice Center
Grameen VidaSana
NAICA Community Center
The New York Healing Justice Program at the American Friends Service Committee
NYC Youth Leadership Council
Right to Counsel NYC Coalition
Teens Take Charge
Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP)
Queensbridge 696 Cure Violence
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Youth First Initiative
INSTRUCTORS
Abby MacPhail | UNIS | Program Organizer and Editor
Oriana Ullman | UNIS | Program Coordinator and Editor
Jamahl Richardson | Age of Imagery | Photography Instructor
Leora Kahn | PROOF | Curator
Willhemina Wahlin | PROOF & Charles Sturt University | Graphic Designer
STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS
Karinel Aponte /2019
Charlotte Ariyan /2019
Jacob Blau/2019
Sam Blau /2017 & 2019
Julio Carvalho /2019
Antoine Casado /2019
Won-Jae Chang /2019
Naomi Douma /2019
Claire Farhi /2019
Elijah Fontalvo /2019
Joelvi Garcia /2019
Aki Gaythwaite /2018 & 2019
Annika Heegaard /2018
Amane Miura /2019
Prachi Roy /2019
Isabella Serrano /2017, 2018 & 2019
Kristian Suh/2019
Arielle Thomas /2019
Xavier Watkins /2019
Zoe Knable /2017 & 2018
Noella Kalasa/2018
Elizabeth Roytberg /2018
Nathalie Chieveley-Williams /2018
Aris Woodyear /2018
Rabiatou Ba /2018
Eloise Chambadal /2017 & 2018
Aishatou Coulibaly /2017 & 2018
Fanta Barry /2018
Bre'yah Cherry-Ambekisye /2018
Tim Lin /2017 & 2018
Asha' Ravenel /2018
Aminata Samassi /2018
Derrick Amoateng /2018
Signe Rawet /2018
Jasmine Sanicola /2018
Serena Aimen /2017
Syeria Alvarado /2017
Karen Diaz /2017
Amani Dobson /2017
Skylar Fernandez /2017
Graana Khan /2017
Kadija Kone /2017
Lydia Leiber/ 2017
Elisabeth Letsou / 2017
Diana Montero / 2017