Dividing Lines and the Infrastructure of Inequality

Authors

• Deborah N. Archer, Margaret B. Hoppin Professor of Law, NYU Law School

Document Type

Lecture

Speaker

Deborah N. Archer

Date

10-22-2025

Description

Professor Deborah N. Archer delivered the 2025 Philip A. Hart Memorial Lecture at Georgetown Law on October 22. In her talk, "Dividing Lines and the Infrastructure of Inequality," Archer explains how U.S. transportation networks deliberately use highways and bus routes as physical and psychological barriers to maintain the racial segregation boundaries once enforced by Jim Crow laws. “Transportation systems shape who is allowed to feel like they belong,” Archer noted, urging policymakers to repair aging systems with inclusion in mind.

Deborah N. Archer has served as the President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) since 2021. She is also the Margaret B. Hoppin Professor of Law and the Faculty Director of the Community Equity Initiative at NYU Law School.

Duration

77 minutes

Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Scholarly Commons Citation

Archer, Deborah N., "Dividing Lines and the Infrastructure of Inequality" (2025). Philip A. Hart Memorial Lecture. 37.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/hartlecture/37