Culture on My Mind
The Disturbing History of America’s Highways
January 15, 2025

This time around, I’m thinking about the dark side of American history.

A video from PBS Origins popped up on my radar and continued my research into how the development of the United States wasn’t equitable. From redlining and disproportionate penalties from the War on Drugs to the outright ignorance of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the fortification of the Republic has cost some citizens more than others.

It’s important to think about and discuss these things because they affect a large population of the country, and in turn, that affects us all. It’s important to recognize the reasons how prosperity and success impact various communities so we can do better in the future. You know, that whole “liberty and justice for all” part of the Pledge of Allegiance.

This video is part of a series called Roots of Resistance, which I intend to check out further. In this episode, host Felecia For The Win takes a look at metropolitan highway systems, how their development deliberately targeted minority neighborhoods (which were deliberately classified as “slums”), and how they contributed to putting thousands of families out of their homes in the name of progress.

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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

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