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Resources

Featured resources

African American Museum of Iowa

Iowa's only statewide museum devoted to preserving African American history and culture.

Mapping Inequality

See redlining maps from the majority of cities where they were created across America.

Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing

A report detailing barriers to fair and equal housing in Greater Des Moines with an action plan for making improvements.

The One Economy Blueprint for Action

A collective impact effort to reduce economic disparities facing Black residents of Polk County, Iowa.

The Urban Institute

Resources for achieving housing justice.

More resources

For further reading

Christian, R. (2022, September 15). Financial Literacy in the Black Community. Annuity.org. https://www.annuity.org/financial-literacy/black-community/

 

(2012) Public Housing Timeline, 1933–1993, Journal of the American Planning Association, 78:4, 359-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2012.738167

 

Diane Kuthy (2017) Redlining and Greenlining: Olivia Robinson Investigates Root Causes of Racial Inequity, Art Education, 70:1, 50-57.  https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2017.1247573

 

Federal Housing Administration. (1938). Underwriting and valuation procedure under Title II of the National Housing Act. U.S. Government Printing Office. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Federal-Housing-Administration-Underwriting-Manual.pdf

 

Fehn, B. and Jefferson, R. (2010). North side revolutionaries in the civil rights struggle: The African American community in Des Moines and the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, 1948-1970. The Annals of Iowa, 69 (Winter 2010), 51-81. https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/14696/galley/123095/view/

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Gary, T. (2003). The rise and fall of Center Street, 1945-1972. Retrieved from Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/entities/publication/41c9d945-8b7e-4e05-8766-c8a562362dcf

 

Gordon, C. (2019) Race in the heartland: Equity, opportunity and public policy in the Midwest. University of Iowa and Iowa Policy Project. https://files.epi.org/uploads/Race-in-the-Midwest-FINAL-Interactive-1.pdf

 

Gross, T. (2012, May 3). A ‘forgotten history’ of how the U.S. government segregated America. Fresh Air. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/526655831?storyId=526655831

 

Iowa PBS. The Story of the Ku Klux Klan in America and in Iowa. Iowa Pathways. https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/2587/story-ku-klux-klan-america-and-iowa

 

Jan, T. (2018, March 28). Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It’s still hurting minorities today. The Washington Post. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/

 

Kevin A. Park & Roberto G. Quercia (2019): Who Lends Beyond the Red Line? The Community Reinvestment Act and the Legacy of Redlining, Housing Policy Debate. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2019.1665839

 

Kilovsky, K, Lim, K., and Taylor Williams, T. (2020) Creating the healthiest nation: Health and housing equity. American Public Health Association.  https://www.apha.org/-/media/files/pdf/topics/equity/health_and_housing_equity.ashx?la=en&hash=FEDA5CD7041C72CBA783AB614E5EC20CAA040DCA

 

Landeck, K. (2019). The legacy of redlining and segregation on Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa State University Digital Repository. https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/entities/publication/8127799e-946a-421c-beb6-eab5bafae5b2

 

Nelson, Robert, et al. Mapping Inequality. https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=12/41.604/-93.688&city=des-moines-ia&text=about

 

Parker, Honesty. (2011). African Americans of Des Moines and Polk County. Arcadia Publishing. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9780738582962

 

Peter Dreier (2003) The Future of Community Reinvestment: Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing Environment , Journal of the American Planning Association, 69:4, 341-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944360308976323 

 

Rothstein, R. (2014). The racial achievement gap, segregated schools, and segregated neighborhoods – A constitutional insult. Race and Social Problems, 6(4). https://www.epi.org/publication/the-racial-achievement-gap-segregated-schools-and-segregated-neighborhoods-a-constitutional-insult/

 

Schuetz, J. (2017, December 8). Metro Areas are still racially segregated. The Avenue. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/12/08/metro-areas-are-still-racially-segregated/

 

Schwieder, Dorothy. (2002). "A Farmer and the Ku Klux Klan in Northwest Iowa." The Annals of Iowa 61 (2002), 286-320. https://doi.org/10.17077/0003-4827.10596

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Sherman Hill Neighborhood Association. (n.d.). The history of Sherman Hill. Retrieved from Sherman Hill Neighborhood Association: https://www.shermanhilldsm.org/history/

 

Thessalenuere Hinnant-Bernard & Sue R. Crull (2004) Subprime Lending and Reverse Redlining, Housing and Society, 31:2, 169-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/08882746.2004.11430506

 

Vincent, Stephen. (2007). "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism." The Annals of Iowa 66 (2007), 108-109. https://doi.org/10.17077/0003-4827.1103

 

Williams, A. and Emamdjomeh, A. (2018, May 10). America is more diverse than ever-but still segregated. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/segregation-us-cities/

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History of Federal Housing Programs

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Blakemore, E. (2023, June). How the GI Bill's promise was denied to a million Black WWII veterans. Retrieved from History.com: https://www.history.com/news/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits

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Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. (2023, May). Retrieved from Federal Reserve History: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/community-reinvestment-act

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Discrimination Against Minorities in the Federal Housing Programs. (1956). Retrieved from Indiana University Maurer School of Law Digital Repository: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2715&context=ilj

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Galyean, C. (n.d.). Levittown. Retrieved from U.S. History Scene: https://ushistoryscene.com/article/levittown/

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Home Owners Loan Act (1933). (2016, November). Retrieved from Living New Deal: https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/home-owners-loan-act-1933/

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Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. (1999). Retrieved from HUD Exchange: https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/2184/housing-and-community-development-hcd-act-of-1974/

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Legislative Summary: Housing. (n.d.). Retrieved from John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/legislative-summary/housing

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Low Income Housing Tax Credits. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Housing Law Project: https://www.nhlp.org/resource-center/low-income-housing-tax-credits/

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National Housing Act (1934). (2016, November). Retrieved from Living New Deal: https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/national-housing-act-1934/

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US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). History of Fair Housing. Retrieved from US Department of Housing and Urban Development:

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/aboutfheo/history

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US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). Public Housing Reform Overview. Retrieved from US Department of Housing and Urban Development: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/phr/about

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