Highway Racism - If You Don’t Know, Now You Know | The Daily Show

Highways are the vital arteries that help transport goods and help workers commute to the office, but their origins are rooted in racism. #DailyShow

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[autumnspells]

I studied urbanism in architecture school and let me tell you, so many Black neighborhoods were eroded by highways via eminent domain. Black home and business owners never received the true value of their properties, forcing them to basically start from scratch and it ruptured thriving Black towns and neighborhoods. This also exacerbated redlining and dispersed dollars that kept Black neighborhoods healthy.

Consider how this would’ve compounded the daily struggles racism forced on Black people. As hard as it is to find and own a home now, how hard it would be to try and find another neighborhood that wasn’t deed restricted against the color of your skin? Could you find a landlord to rent to you; or find another bank that accepted black business? Would you still have a safe route back to your job (if you were able to keep it after you were forced to move)? And on top of that, you’re denied the right to vote on laws that directly affect your life and livelihood.

This is why the voting rights act is critical and needs to be upheld. This is why institutional racism, prejudice, bias, on all levels, need to be taught and understood. Because the loss of these neighborhoods has damaged Black economics and communities for decades; and in turn the American economy and society.

Black Americans make up roughly 13% of America’s population. Consider where America would be if ~13% of the population had been building generational wealth for the past 70 years instead of constantly having to start over economically or be forcibly uprooted out of stable economic areas?

We do ourselves a disservice when we allow racism to persist - pretending it doesn’t exist in every aspect of American society, economy and culture. When one of us suffers, we all do.

[phreak]

Ya know, this whole series of "If ya don't know now ya know" is always extremely well timed deeply thought out material made to fill in gaps of understanding on issues being talked about in current events. I just wish it was put on a channel somewhere for the side that needs to see it.

[whatleft]

I knew my family in Washington state was poor, but now knowing my grandfather's house was taken by eminent domain for a highway not because it was the best path but possibly because he was on the poor side of town is eye-opening to his stories of hatred toward the government. He also claimed he didn't get a fair price for his land.

[boochi]

It's amazing to me that Trevor, an immigrant now knows more about the systemic racism history of the US than generations of people that have been here for ages. As a fellow immigrant, I love learning from Trevor (and on my own of course). This especially hits hard since I live in MN and know how the effects of this highway racism still linger. They took everything away from the black community and more. It hurts.
You're on a roll Trevor.

[graylinshowell]

I feel like recently a number of Americans have learned about the Greenwood Massacre. It was an unspeakably evil tragedy and the number of lives lost should shock and embarrass any American. When you take into account the fact that the government went out of its way to make it illegal for victims in the Greenwood massacre to collect on insurance, it is pretty obvious that systematic racism was a powerful and tangible thing. Now consider the fact that decades later people who grew up in that community and survived the massacre we're still trying to rebuild and having some limited success. This seems like it could almost be a happy ending until you find out that the Eisenhower highway act used eminent domain to seize land from people in communities like Greenwood and destroyed their property values. If you don't think it's racist for the government to specifically target neighborhoods filled with minorities, many of whom have already survived significant trauma at the hands of the government, in order to build a highway system that disproportionately benefits white neighborhoods while simultaneously creating impoverished neighborhoods that perpetuate generational poverty then you are not only poorly informed but you are willfully ignorant.

[jamzlab]

Really? Roads? As a recent American, it blows my mind how much racism was integrated into every part of this nation. Learning new things everyday. Unbelievable.

[RAIRADIO]

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can relate. That's how our lines were drawn.

[saltysleigh]

Then they built sewage plants and every single kind of polluting industrial plants next to those highways.

[alexc.]

I’ll be honest.
I was shocked that this was made an hour ago…when I learned about it YEARS ago.

So glad Trevor is bringing educating people on this now.

[lisagraciano]

I love the way Trevor educates people on racism. I always learn something new that I can share with others on social media to try to open their eyes to the reality of racism in America.

[zachcollins]

This is so prominent in every city in the US. All these minor details get overlooked, then build over time creating the systemic oppression that is still present today across the country.

[joehemmann]

Tucker: "How can a road be racist? It's an inanimate object"
Me: "So is a burning cross..."

[alpharius]

Back in the 90's, my uncle went into the USA, and when he came back, he saw exaclty that, plain for all to see, even as he wasn't an american himself, he understood how the rail road divided city and place...

[gabrielreinfalke]

Imagine where the US could be, if they had made use of all the potential in their country instead of cutting some out of daily life or pushing others into reservations at the middle of nowhere. 🤯

[Red]

I just and still can't wrap my head around how we're living in a world where a satire show provides more sophisticated and credible information than the news and how they in turn become the joke...
It feels way too much like reverse... life.

[elmerninis]

It’s sad when people say they don’t see racism in America. When literally all actions shows otherwise

[tiwariranju]

Ad a person from the brown community myself, I feel So Proud watching my brother Trevor just taking in the world with the perfect blend of his community's representation whilst giving a take on the world politics, loads of love and blessings, brother ❤️

[tonytooshort]

Man, not for nothing but, these so called 'comedians' have reallyyyy turned out over time to be our only hope for real and ACTUAL reporting! I've learned more from Trevor alone then I have from watching years of CNN! Truly disgusting; extremely pathetic!

[aiashla]

Trevor is a legend when it comes to helping me understand the world in all its stupidity... no joke.

[MusicfromMarrs]

I live a few blocks south of the southern US 80 connector: 235 in Des Moines. Just a mile east of my neighborhood (and possibly my area too), 235 destroyed a bustling, thriving black neighborhood and its culture. It’s taken years for things to bounce back, but that old community is gone.