The Lines Between Us: Two Families and a Quest to Cross Baltimore's Racial Divide

by Lawrence Lanahan

A masterful narrative—with echoes of Evicted and The Color of Law—that brings to life the structures, policies, and beliefs that divide us

Mark Lange and Nicole Smith have never met, but if they make the moves they are contemplating—Mark, a white suburbanite, to West Baltimore, and Nicole, a black woman from a poor city neighborhood, to a prosperous suburb—it will defy the way the Baltimore region has been programmed for a century. It is one region, but separate worlds. And it was designed to be that way.

In this deeply reported, revelatory story, duPont Award–winning journalist Lawrence Lanahan chronicles how the region became so highly segregated and why its fault lines persist today. Mark and Nicole personify the enormous disparities in access to safe housing, educational opportunities, and decent jobs. As they eventually pack up their lives and change places, bold advocates and activists—in the courts and in the streets—struggle to figure out what it will take to save our cities and Put money into poor, segregated neighborhoods? Make it possible for families to move into areas with more opportunity?

The Lines Between Us is a riveting narrative that compels reflection on America's entrenched inequality—and on where the rubber meets the road not in the abstract, but in our own backyards. Taking readers from church sermons to community meetings to public hearings to protests to the Supreme Court to the death of Freddie Gray, Lanahan deftly exposes the intricacy of Baltimore's hypersegregation through the stories of ordinary people living it, shaping it, and fighting it, day in and day out.

This eye-opening account of how a city creates its black and white places, its rich and poor spaces, reveals that these problems are not intractable; but they are designed to endure until each of us—despite living in separate worlds—understands we have something at stake.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, History, Book Club, Social Justice, Audiobook, Politics

404 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a narrative standpoint, I think this book struggled in trying to be a story about two individuals woven into the weave of a larger issue regarding housing, mobility, access, and systemic racism. Combined with the density of language regarding the legal cases, I found myself skimming parts to get the gist.

I understood the author’s rationale for wanting to include the stories of Mark and Nicole, but I’m not sure it added anything. I do appreciate the insight into how the cards were stacked against those pushing for housing access given those quick to judge about individuals who might take advantage of such programs.

Ultimately, I found the first and final chapters most compelling - the first for thoroughly laying out the landscape and juxtaposition of opportunity and the last for tying it all to current events, especially in light of the country’s growing reckoning with police brutality and systemic racism.


I would certainly recommend this book to others looking to educate themselves more on how access and opportunity play a difference, as well as unfair housing practices. As a caveat, I do think for those outside of the Baltimore region, it may be a bit more challenging to keep track of the geography.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most fun book in the world to read, really heavy in the details. But I'm really glad it exists, it is a comprehensive and detailed history of the region's struggles with housing policy and its effect on people's day to day lives.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative study of the housing situation in Baltimore. This would be a great "required reading" for an American Studies course at a college or university in regards to the topics of; subsidized housing, segregation, racial inequality, housing and urban development, Baltimore history and NIMBY (not in my backyard).

[Alex Walinskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable written history of housing segregation and institutional racism in Baltimore. You’re gonna get the most value out of this if you live in or know Baltimore

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who is a Maryland transplant, as I am, this is essential reading.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in Baltimore or are from Baltimore, you NEED to read this. This should be mandatory for every Baltimorean to read. It’s a well-detailed story of a white man who feels led to move to Sandtown, while following the story of a black woman who grew up in West Baltimore that is trying to find a way out to Howard County.

Meanwhile, it chronicles unfair housing practices in Baltimore and the Freddie Gray riots.

It has connected so many dots for me as a Baltimorean. Brilliant.

[Michael Grizer (He-Him) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me about 100 pages to actually get into it. I finally starting enjoying the discussions of the court cases. Otherwise, I didn't enjoy much. As a liberal, I agree with his assertion that generations of institutionalized discrimination has trapped many blacks in a cycle of poverty and crime-ridden neighborhoods. But he really doesn't present any sympathetic characters to tell the story. At some point, personal responsibility has to play a part in the solution. I cannot connect with people who consistently make bad choices (e.g. having kids they can't afford, skipping school, dropping out, quitting jobs without having another, and basically wandering aimlessly through life with no plan to improve). He introduces way too many characters that are not required for the main line narrative; they are confusing and distracting without adding to the story. He could have expanded the section on Barbara Samuels and deleted the other stories, and he would have had a tighter stronger argument. I doubt this book would sway anyone who isn't already a believer in institutionalized racism...it definitely won't convert any trumpies.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough and well researched. I admit to skimming through most of the legal passages, although I paid more attention as the narrative approached current day and issues that are familiar to me. It definitely gives me a broader context to my local environment. Might not be as interesting to people outside the Baltimore region.

The HOME Act referenced at the end of the book passed in Baltimore County in November 2019, with an exception for small property owners.

[Kriste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hearing the author speak Wed so will wait to rate this book until then. It was interesting, so many of the people and places were familiar.

[Kaitlyn Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a doozy. I give it 4 stars (leaning towards 4.5) because of the INCREDIBLE amount of research this journalist did to get to the point of writing this book and how it was easily gathered into a readable - if hefty - tome. I learned so much about housing history and policy in Baltimore, even as a native, and also enjoyed the more human anecdotes that helped the book along during a slow early-middle section that focuses too much on a legal battle around disparate impact of racist and unfair housing laws. This is described in great detail and while I appreciated it, it was hard to follow.

Overall, an incredible and necessary read if you are literally anyone who calls Baltimore home, permanently or temporarily.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this extensive reporting of segregation and the legal battles over fair housing policy in Baltimore. Through the stories of three people and their families, Lanahan weaves together extensive policy discussion with the personal implications of those policies. Nicole is a young African-American mother who struggles in her highly-segregated low-income neighborhood, but eventually thrives when she is able to use a housing voucher to move to the suburbs. Mark is an evangelical Christian, who, inspired by the work of Dr. John Perkins, feels called to move to West Baltimore to practice incarnational ministry. Barbara is an attorney who, over several decades, persistently works for fair housing policies and laws and holds governing bodies accountable.

I learned so much about housing policy from this book. It's really wonky at times, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the different policies. That only underscores the complexity of the issue. Mark and the church he belongs to are reported on with matter-of-factness and respect. Nicole's story reveals both the challenges created by unfair housing policies and the potential promise of remediation of those policies. The killing of Freddie Gray is covered, since it happens in Mark's neighborhood. The impact on the neighborhood is shown, but it's not the core focus of the book.

If you're not into deep policy discussions, just skim those parts and read about Nicole and Mark. If you're a policy wonk, you'll have lots to dig into. I think anyone who is troubled by the problem of housing affordability and/or segregation would really benefit from and enjoy reading this book.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading before anybody even attempts to open their mouth about what is wrong with Baltimore...or America. It certainly gets a bit wonky, so be prepared for that: it's a book, not an article, so get ready for plenty of corroborating details from court cases and such. I thoroughly enjoyed the "recent history" parts, having lived through aspects of it myself. There's even a happy ending to the narrative that winds through the research, if you really squint. Personally, I might be a bit less thrilled about a boy joining the Army or invasive Christians, and I'd probably be a little more conspitatorial when discussing the start of the uprising. However, the book succeeds precisely because it manages to stay on the rails, right where I would go off: it deftly splits the difference between a Conspiracy-theory deep dive and a broad overview suitable for outsiders. There's a good story, but the real information about the past and present, and what we do with it, is fascinating and necessary. Subtract one star if you don't live in Baltimore.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that delves, with depth and breadth, into the racial segregation of Baltimore. It is heavy with the history of housing policies and politics. The author works hard to create a comprehensive narrative of how Baltimore wound up so racially segregated. That being said, the history of Baltimore is not so different from the history of many cities, and suburbs, since so many are segregated.

Woven throughout the dense history are the personal stories of Nicole and Mark, who are meant to personify these ideas. Nicole is a Black single mom trying to move out of the city to provide her son with opportunities, and Mark is a White Christian who feels called to move into a poor Baltimore neighborhood. These narratives feel a little less complementary to the history than I expected, and also didn't feel as big a part of the story as I expected, but did provide some useful human context.

Recently published, this book felt very timely. Thought it was dense, and not as much of a "story" as I anticipated, it's an important book that serves as a history and a guide.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lanahan provides an extensive look at housing policy in the United States, Maryland, and Baltimore that led to the segregation of the city. It goes far beyond the story of redlining and looks closely at policy and court cases regarding public housing that continued the ills begun with the redlining process. In order to put more of a face on the story he follows the alternate stories of a white Christian, middle class family moving into one of Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods answering what they felt was a call from God and the story of a young black woman who is determined to get out of West Baltimore to one of the surrounding counties to provide a better life for her son. I'm not sure how interested anyone from outside Baltimore would be in the book unless they are deeply interested in housing policy, but I felt like it did offer me something beyond all the knowledge I already had about what has led to Baltimore being the highly segregated city that it is.

[Carly Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at racial make-up of cities. Lanahan focuses on two individuals - a black mom moving from Baltimore to the suburbs and a baby boomer white man moving to Sandtown (a low income minority area of Baltimore). Threaded with their stories over several years is the story of legal action undertaken to make the desegregate the greater Baltimore area. I enjoyed the personal stories more than the policy discussions. I listened to the book on audio and the author would move quickly from one story thread to the other rather abruptly with no transitions which was slightly confusing on audio and probably worked better on the page than listening to the text.

A good choice for readers who liked Evicted by Desmond or are interested in race and contemporary housing policy in the US.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the intentions of this book are good, the writing is way too detailed. At the beginning, particularly, Lanahan sets up different people and tells their stories, switching often as if it's a novel. I got lost many times and finally gave up going back and re-reading. It's taken me months to read this book. For the last 150 pages, I skimmed it. There are way too many details included, that are meant to bring life to the material, but just bog it down. I much preferred Not in My Neighborhood, by Antero Peitila, which deals with housing discrimination in an earlier time period in Baltimore and the surrounding counties. The information about more recent times and the continued discrimination is important. It's just difficult to get to the meat of it in this book.

[sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

contains some really interesting baltimore history in here, but it is definitely not what it’s advertised as. there are probably more sermons and preaching about christian values than the two POVs we’re supposed to be following combined, and even then we barely hear anything about nicole (especially in the last half of the book) compared to mark. honestly at times i felt like i was just reading an advertisement for new song church. despite its false advertising and slight christian preachiness, i think that most of the legal cases mentioned and the history of how baltimore became such a segregated city is really important and i learned a lot - i just wish that it wasn’t overshadowed so much by all of the tangential stories that barely related to it.

[Sabra Kurth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at segregation in Baltimore city told through several points of view—white Christian activists, fair housing advocates, residents. The policies that created Baltimore’s issues were created over decades and dismantling them is proving to last as long. A good introduction. Much of this book I lived through, but was ignorant of the background and how badly federal, stste, and local governments had failed the city.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book would be the story of the two families the title talked about. The book did tell us about the two families, but briefly and interspersed with a lot of details about lawsuits against Baltimore County and HUD. I got really bogged down in all the detailed descriptions of the lawsuits and hearings. I don't feel like I came out with much more knowledge of Baltimore's neighborhoods than I already had.

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an ADC from Netgalley for review.

This is a book by a journalist who took a hard look at the segregated history, and the history of segregation, of Baltimore, MD. If you've read the Kerner Report...you already know what happened (and is still happening).

Recommended for history geeks, civil rights scholars, housing and education activists, and legislators at every level.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was simply too long and lacked a succinctness readers could have benefited from. There was so much that I liked about this book and there could be many take aways for the reader but they got lost in too much detail. If I wasn’t from Baltimore, I wouldn’t have felt compelled to finish reading it.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As I considered writing a book about segregation and racial inequality in Blatimore, events elsewhere-particularly the death in 2014 of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri-revealed similar dynamics at work in other regions. Across America, wealth and health followed whiteness, and people and places were penalized for blackness."

"It is one region, but separate worlds. And it was designed to be that way."

"At the peak of its suburbanization, Baltimore County didn't just grow-it got whiter. Between 1950 and 1960, the overall population grew by 76 percent, from around 270,000 to nearly 475,000, while losing almost one thousand black residents."

"Under Reagan, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Section 8 program ceased new construction, and those receiving assistance for housing in the private market saw their required contribution toward rent rise from 25 percent of their adjusted income to 30 percent. Cuts during the Reagan ear meant tighter budgets for local housing authorities. Federal funding for subsidized housing through HUD dropped 82 percent between fiscal years 1981 and 1989."

"Baltimore's school board had implemented a "free-choice" desegregation plan in 1954 following the decision, which led to more flight than integration. eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that free-choice policies were only constitutional if they actually succeeded in desegregation a school district, but the city ignored the ruling. In February 1974, the federal government threatened to withhold funding unless the city further integrated its schools. The city would make plans to change school zones within the city, dial them back in reaction to outrage and protests in white neighborhoods, and send a diluted plan to the feds, only to see it rejected."

"Intensely segregated schools corelate with many factors that limit educational opportunity, like poorly achieving peers, unqualified teachers, and inferior materials and infrastructure. By the late 1990s, the Baltimore school system had the highest degree of racial isolation in the country."

"The number of foreclosures in Maryland had jumped from fewer than one thousand in the last quarter of 2006 to nearly ten thousand in the last quarter of 2007."

"An important distinction in the trial, and one that reflected the changing nature of American race relations, was the difference between discrimination with intent and discrimination without intent. The first kind of claim, which had so piqued Garbis regarding Kurt Schmoke, was about racism as most people understood it: Who were the racists? And what racist things did they do? But after the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, more and more of the exclusionary policies and practices that disproportionately disadvantaged African Americans were racially neutral on their face."

"Mark thought the Baltimore police behaved like an occupying army; he wondered if Sandtown had more in common with Palestine than neighborhoods just a mile away."

"It was an old Baltimore story in a new guise: poor and rich, white and black, indicating good intentions but talking oast each other."

"In its suggestions for eliminating barriers in housing, transportation, and the workforce, the Opportunity Collaborative specifically mentioned structural racism, which it defined as "an array of societal dynamics-e.g. historic wealth disparities, disparate treatment by justice systems, disparate consideration in interviews-that routinely put job seekers of color at a disadvantage relative to white job seekers."

"Mark believed that as a Christian, truly caring for a community didn't mean supporting government programs for people who lived forty-five minutes away. It meant making that community your home."

"Racial segregation is an economic structure that penalizes people who live in black communities that are disinvested and redlined. So as we say Black Lives Matter, we also have to say Black Neighborhoods Matter."

"It was the same chant heard sixteen years earlier for another packed meeting. But the crowd chanting "Let us in!" at Hamilton Middle School had been overwhelmingly white and determined to shut public housing out of their neighborhood. This time, the crowd was of all colors, and many were there to pressure powerful developers and elected officials into providing affordable housing."

"It was easy, especially outside of the South, for white people to distance themselves from such treachery-to think, "Not one of us." But to activists fighting for racial justice in Baltimore, "white supremacy" described not just villians, but a system-a system that absolved well-intentioned white people as they perpetuated a society and an economy that disproportionately rewarded them and pushed African Americans further behind. Like the phrase literally implied, white supremacy kept white people on top."

"Trump and King may be trying to transform the GOP into a kamikaze white nationalist cult, but well-meaning white people cannot consider themselves above the fray. White supremacy never stops acting on-or benefitting-white people. Only white people can stop it. As a white man, rather than yearn for the day I am no longer racist, I must beware of the day I think I am no longer racist. America has always had this sickness. This is just what the symptoms look like right now. We must not abide it."

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to follow and very focused on legal cases. Would only really recommend if you are super into Baltimore housing legal history. Also incredibly depressing how there is no understanding of how law, church, and military - the outlets for the main ppl focused on in the book - are also responsible for reproducing all of these systems so are the allowable structures of participation/mollification.

[Kristen M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very slow read for me. It is so information-heavy and a lot of different threads to follow, so I had to start and stop frequently. HOWEVER, the reporting is really good - you can just feel the amount of research and passion that went into this. Felt almost like Evicted.

[Edward Weiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the explanation of the legal regimen concerning affordable housing and how it may be perpetuating segregation, but this book was way too long and the descriptions of the two main characters was superficial and unnecessary.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally good narrative non-fiction, with a mix of background / facts and personal accounts. But got tedious in the middle with too much info about the legal issues (court proceedings, city council decisions, etc.).

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Necessary

Thus book is dense and hard to read, a documentary rather than a story. If you can stick with it, though, you will learn a lot. I live not far from Baltimore so it all really hit home for me.

[Maureen Weiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading all the efforts that have gone towards furthering fair housing and desegregation, I don't know what it would take to convince white people and our politicians that institutional racism needs to be reversed.

[Matthew Loftus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review to come. An important book dealing with a critical subject, but the strong storytelling felt imbalanced in a 300-page book without any editorializing or summarizing.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed this more if the author had focused on the two families and hadn't included SO much background about Baltimore's history. It made for a very dry read.