Myth: Redlining Originated in the U.S. (w/ Rasul Mowatt)

The Black Myths Podcast

In this episode, we discuss the origins of redlining with Rasul Mowatt, Ph.D. Rasul recently released a book entitled "Geographies of Threat: The State and the City Between Us" that uncovers colonial-era maps prior to the history of redlining in the United States that demonstrate similar practices. More importantly, we discuss the political nature of map-making. Instead of viewing map-making as a neutral task, we discuss the nature of conquest that the map-making of the western world came to represent. Rasul argues that the conquering and administration of space are essential to the making of the state. Redlining is an expression of this history.

Rasul A. Mowatt, Ph.D., is just a son of Chicago and a subject of empire, while dwelling within notions of statelessness, settler colonial mentality, and anti-capitalism. He also functions in the State as a Professor in the Departments of American Studies and Geography in the College of Arts + Sciences at Indiana University, and soon will be a Department Head in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University.

Book

https://www.routledge.com/The-Geographies-of-Threat-and-the-Production-of-Violence-The-State-and/Mowatt/p/book/9780367708948