The historical effects of redlining have plagued the residents of metropolitan Boston for decades. In this study, I will be examining why cities such as Boston continue to perpetuate proximate neighborhoods that reflect such stark divisions in many factors. The definition of socioeconomic status and how it is used to separate people into specific neighborhoods is racialized in Boston. This is manifested through disinvestment, discrimination, and the notion of “desirability” in housing. Through analyzing archival and current statistics, maps, documentations, and personal accounts, I aim to examine how illegal practices with legal loopholes of housing discrimination in Boston has led to continued de facto segregation in Boston. Realtors and the Homeowners Loan Corporation utilized socioeconomic status as a means of discriminating against Black Bostonians. Specifically, by restricting them to low-rated neighborhoods, redlining persists despite the illegality of it. Additionally, modern-day redlining continues to skew the way realtors perceive various discriminatory practices such as blockbusting, disinvestment, and the rate of “desirability” due to the racialization of socioeconomic status in Boston. This study provides context as to why neighborhoods in metropolitan Boston vary so greatly in socioeconomic status and neighborhood development and further shed light to the plight of African Americans in Boston.

Voter suppression is a notorious voting tactic used against people of color. The traditional methods of voting disenfranchisement were deemed illegal, so new tactics have been implemented to reduce the likelihood of Black and Brown voters. Examining the racialized impacts of voter suppression on lower-income Black and Hispanic Americans will help to critique these issues of the current American voting structure from a fundamentally small problem, photo identification requirements, and the infrastructure of physical voting locations to more significant, broader issues of voter disenfranchisement.

Growing knowledge and research in the field of African Studies is on the rise among prestigious scholars, anthropologists, researchers, and historians. Africa is at the center of archaeological discovery regarding some of the first profound civilizations and societies. The continuation of the study of ancient Africa as a source of knowledge in the past is crucial to understanding some of the first origins of humanity. Through a literature review, various sources in the different regions of Africa have been introduced in this project. In hopes of drawing cultural connections throughout different ethnic groups in Africa, the foundation explores what life in Africa looks like from approximately 1000 to 1500 BC. In this project, I focus on Africa by regional division of coastal East Africa, the West African Sahel, Northeastern Africa, and West-Central Africa. Thus far, humanity’s engagement with the sea has been at the forefront of my studies as recent archaeology developments have suggested that integral coast areas were the hotspot for trade and resources, in addition to evidence for shifts in sea levels and the human response to changes in the ecosystem. What many archaeologists define as “maritime” is central in understanding relations of trade, environmental influence, and oversea relations. In regards to methodody, my plan is to conduct a literature review of the various sources to compile a general idea of how the world in Africa existed at this time. I will conduct the initial part of my study by region including the East, North, and West-Central areas of Africa. By the end of this project, I hope to be able to draw clear comparisons between different regions in Africa as it relates to culture and trade. In the study of African history, it is important to recognize the biased reports of westernized sources viable to understanding the past. This project introduces a diverse variety of scholars who have devoted their lives to understanding African culture during this era.