American Apartheid by Stephanie Woodard

I’ve always loved learning about Native American tribes and cultures, but most of that learning was about the past, rather than the present. The protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe remained in my thoughts long after the protest came to an end, and I wanted to learn more about the modern-day struggles of the various Tribes—not an easy task, given the lack of adequate (if any) media coverage on anything of importance related to Native Americans. So when I saw this book, I was eager for the opportunity to learn more about the issues faced by the Tribes, and began reading it as soon as possible.

High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing by Ben Austen

I remember hearing about “the projects” when I was a child. I didn’t truly understand what it meant, or what they were, of course—that understanding wouldn’t come until several years later. When it did, the few things I read (or, occasionally, saw on television)  centered around African-American poverty, crime, and gangs; leaving me with the impression that it was a terrible, frightening place to live.

What I never learned about was how they came to be, or how different life was for the early tenants compared to what it eventually became.