Deborah Archer

Our government's response to Hurricane Katrina was a failure of civil rights and infrastructure policy as Black communities were left unprotected and forgotten.

As extreme weather events get more common, elected officials must root out the racial justice failures that enabled Katrina’s destruction.

The Greatest Tragedy of Hurricane Katrina Was Man-Made Hurricane Katrina reminds us how racial justice and infrastructure are intertwined, ACLU President Deborah N. Archer writes 20 years after the storm.

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, ACLU President Deborah Archer argues for Rolling Stone that we must learn the lesson of investing in Black communities before it’s too late.

The Greatest Tragedy of Hurricane Katrina Was Man-Made Hurricane Katrina reminds us how racial justice and infrastructure are intertwined, ACLU President Deborah N. Archer writes 20 years after the storm.

20 years after Katrina, the message remains clear — infrastructure is a civil right.
Katrina exposed a structural failure: the erosion of infrastructure in Black communities reflected a deeper neglect of Black lives. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

'Predatory Transportation Projects': Review of Deborah Archer's 'Dividing Lines' | Law.com Chris Dunn reviews New York University School of Law professor Deborah Archer's book America's long history of building transportation infrastructure that tore apart communities of color.

Thanks to the New York Law Journal for the great review of Dividing Lines!

www.law.com/newyorklawjo...

Thank you so much!

Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality by Deborah N Archer Civil rights lawyer Archer debuts with a searing look at how government decisions about transportation, including where to locat...

Thanks to @publisherswkly.bsky.social for their review of Dividing Lines! www.publishersweekly.com/9781324092131

Is Brooklyn in the house?! I hope so. Join James Forman Jr. and me for a conversation about transportation injustice, systemic racism, and how we can move forward to build back better for everyone. June 9th at 6:30 pm - www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/cbh...

Chicago risks severe cuts to transit. Its poorest suburbs could be hit even harder The Chicago area is facing the prospect of bleak service cuts to public transit if Illinois legislators adjourn this weekend without plugging a $770 million hole in the transportation budget.

Chicago faces a $770 million transit budget shortfall, threatening severe cuts that would disproportionately impact low-income communities. These cuts could devastate mobility and economic prospects for folks who rely heavily on public transportation.
apnews.com/article/chic...

I appreciate Sarah Swan and @jotwell.bsky.social ‘s engagement with my recent co-authored article!

torts.jotwell.com/building-a-c...

Trump’s Infrastructure Funding Pause Impacts More than Highways America’s infrastructure is crumbling beneath our feet. We must reorient our thinking, writes Deborah N. Archer.

I shared some thoughts with Time magazine on this administration’s threats to transportation justice.

time.com/7287364/trum...

I’m excited to join the lineup for SXSW London. If you plan to be there, join me to talk about the current challenges to civil rights and civil liberties. @sxsw.com

Thank you for your help and support!

Thank you!

U.S. Restores Legal Status for Many International Students, but Warns of Removals to Come Immigration officials signaled that the Trump administration would continue to pursue efforts to terminate the legal status of the students, despite a wave of legal challenges.

We have to keep fighting back. It’s working!

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/u...

It was such a pleasure to join you!

Judge Limits Trump’s Ability to Withhold School Funds Over D.E.I. The administration was seeking to cut off money from public schools that allowed certain diversity and equity programs.

Incredible victory. Proud of the ACLU folks who fought for this win! @aclu.org

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/u...

Thank you, friend!

Thank you so much!

Thank you for sharing my work!

Thanks, love!

Me & my @nyulaw.bsky.social colleague & work wife, @deborahnarcher.bsky.social, preparing to discuss her amazing book, Dividing Lines, @ the NY Historical Society. Predictably, Deborah, like her book, was absolutely fabulous!

Also, check out the @strictscrutiny.bsky.social interview with Deborah!

It’s publication day! And I was excited to kick it off with @morningjoe-msnbc.bsky.social ! #DividingLines

Thank you!

You are the best work wife a girl could ask for!

It was so much fun to join the podcast to chat with the amazing @profmmurray.bsky.social and @leahlitman.bsky.social about my book Dividing Lines!

Thank you for inviting me on the podcast. It was a pleasure to chat with you all about the book!

Know Your Right To Transportation Justice with Deborah Archer and Sister Helen Jones | American Civil Liberties Union You know that phrase “born on the wrong side of the tracks”? Well, there’s something to it: highways, roads, and sidewalks across America have, for decades, been racial and economic dividers. These th...

For decades, highways and roads have been used to divide communities.

ACLU president @deborahnarcher.bsky.social joins our host W. Kamau Bell on At Liberty to discuss her new book Dividing Lines which focuses on the role infrastructure plays in reinforcing racial inequality.

Thank you!!

This book is about more than roads. It’s about the choices we’ve made — and the communities we’ve harmed— in the name of progress. It’s about what happens when infrastructure becomes a tool of oppression. And it’s about what we can do to change it. Tuesday, April 15th.

wwnorton.com/books/978132...

Check out this webinar (April 15) with @deborahnarcher.bsky.social about her forthcoming book DIVIDING LINES (on transportation (in)justice)!

We talk with Deborah about her book on our next episode - you won't want to miss that or this webinar!