Special Exhibit - Redlined: Cities, Suburbs, and Segregation

Help us transform REDLINED:Cities, Suburbs and Segregation into a digital exhibit!

The community response to the REDLINED exhibit was astounding, with thousands of people visiting over the past year. The feedback from the public was overwhelmingly positive, with many visitors requesting that the exhibit become a permanent fixture.

We are happy to announce that our plan is to convert the in-person exhibit to a high-quality website that continues the deep-dive into this hard history.

We need your support to keep the momentum going. Your donation provides the resources needed to not only preserve the exhibit, but also give access to an even broader audience by providing a platform for further research and community convenings around the subject of redlining.

Digital Exhibit Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for their support of the digital exhibit! We are grateful for their commitment to education around issues of equity that impact communities.

Sponsorships are still available! By supporting this project, your organization's brand will be linked to a nationally accredited, award-winning museum, and prominently credited on the online platform, social media marketing and other promotional materials. See available sponsorship benefits.

Presenting Sponsor
$25,000

Legacy Sponsors
$10,000

Community Sponsors
$5,000

Exhibit Information
Educational Programs & Resources

EXHIBIT INFORMATION

"REDLINED: Cities, Suburbs, and Segregation" closed on January 7, 2023, but you can still explore the exhibit information and resources!

REDLINED: CITIES, SUBURBS, AND SEGREGATION takes visitors on a deep dive into the history of redlining and how it both shaped and was shaped by Johnson County and the region. Visitors will learn about the 19th and 20th century foundations of redlining, how the private practice became federal policy during the Great Depression, the expansion of the practice during postwar suburbanization, attempts to dismantle the system during the Civil Rights Era, and how the legacies of redlining continue to impact communities around the nation today.

What is redlining?

Redlining refers to the systematic disinvestment of some neighborhoods and populations in favor of others, most often on the basis of race. This means that private industry and later the federal government chose to fund and support home purchases for white families and neighborhoods over African American families and other communities of color. Although the policy was outlawed with the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, the legacies of the system continue to impact communities of color in our region and across the nation.

How was this exhibit made?

The exhibit is the product of hundreds of hours of staff research, utilizing over 120 books, scholarly articles, dissertations and newspaper articles, as well as thousands of primary source documents housed at regional and national archives.

What are some interesting features of the exhibit?

The exhibit contained more than 120 images, ten display cases with original objects and documents, and covered more than 2,000 square feet of wall space. Visitors were moved by large-scale visualizations of redlining, restrictive covenants by neighborhood, and more.

As visitors explored, they heard from members of previously redlined communities in a special video produced for this exhibit and see how life today mirrors boundaries created nearly a century ago in an interactive touchscreen exhibit.

The exhibit also featured a micro-art exhibit featuring works related to the history and legacies of redlining from the African American Artists Collective. Art has the remarkable ability to communicate where words sometimes fail. It also allows us to process our feelings, experiences, and connect us through our common humanity. Artists with AAAC created pieces in response to the topic of redlining. Their works provide moments to reflect on the historical content provided in the exhibit.