Hampton Art Lovers Present: The Art of the Divide

Hampton Art Lovers Presents

Art of the Divide

The Civil Engineering of American Apartheid

A Conversation with Deborah N. Archer
Moderated by Christopher Norwood, J.D.

In Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality, Deborah N. Archer, American civil rights lawyer, scholar, and author, reveals how the nation’s civil engineering projects—highways, bridges, and urban planning—were used as instruments of exclusion, embedding segregation and economic inequality into America’s physical landscape. From expressways that destroyed thriving Black neighborhoods to planning policies that isolated communities of color, Archer exposes how infrastructure was designed to divide—and continues to shape inequity today.

Deborah N. Archer is the National President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she chairs the Board of Directors and Executive Committee—the first Black woman to hold this position in the organization’s century-long history. She also serves as Professor of Clinical Law, Associate Dean, and Faculty Director of the Community Equity Lab at New York University School of Law. Her groundbreaking research and public advocacy explore how law, policy, and the built environment intersect to reinforce or dismantle systems of racial inequality.

Christopher Norwood, J.D., Founder of Hampton Art Lovers, is a curator, cultural historian, and community advocate whose work explores the intersections of African American art, history, and civic identity. At the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery & Gardens in Historic Overtown, Norwood has championed exhibitions and programs that illuminate Black cultural heritage and its relationship to urban development and social equity. Earlier in his career, he served as Florida Deputy Director for People for the American Way, advancing civic engagement and civil rights across the state.

Together, Archer and Norwood, will explore how civil engineering, law, and culture have shaped America’s divided landscapes—and how creative and civic action can help dismantle the legacy of American Apartheid.

Reception & Book Signing to Follow
Friday, November 22 | 5:00 PM
Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery & Gardens
249 NW 9th Street, Miami, Florida 33136

RSVP: hamptonartlovers.eventbrite.com

Presented by Hampton Art Lovers in collaboration with the ACLU of Florida