From the ACLU, this is at Liberty.

I'm Kendall Seasmeyer, your host.

Today, we're zooming in on Chicago, the country's third largest and one of the most diverse cities,

and a city that has been a blueprint for housing segregation.

Still deeply felt all cross aspects of city life today. While the discriminatory practice of

racial redlining was officially outlawed in 1968, still today for every $1 bank's loan in Chicago's

white neighborhoods, they invest just 12 cents in the city's

black neighborhoods, and 13 cents in Latino areas, according to a 2020 study by WBEZ and

City Bureau. A typical household's wealth in the richest area of Chicago is 206 times higher

than a typical household's wealth in the poorest area.

This continued housing inequity lies at the crux of the city's ongoing struggles against

gun and gang violence, unemployment, and homelessness, but are often overlooked. The system was

designed to create these problems, so we shouldn't be surprised or scoff in reaction.

It's time to learn how so many Chicagoans were set up to struggle, and how we can all be a part of undoing the legacy of racism that pervades the city's map.

Here to talk with us about Chicago's infamous housing history, ongoing consequences, and nationwide influence is Mike Amazqua,

Associate History Professor at Georgetown University, and author of Making Mexican Chicago,

from post-war settlement to the age of gentrification.

Mike, welcome to At Liberty.

Hi, Kendall. Thanks for having me today.

So making Mexican Chicago is such an important

book, and it really captures the multi-ethnic character of Chicago that has fought to survive

since the post-war era. Although now 65% of Chicago's residents identify as black, Latino,

...