State probe into Black communities' displacement surges forward with infusion of funds

Yahoo

4 days ago

Nannie Ruth Johnson stands next to her mother, Ellen Williams Francis, in Nannie's yard on Shoe Lane—property that was part of a historically Black community in Newport News, where families were ultimately displaced to make way for Christopher Newport University. (Photo courtesy of James Johnson)
As more states reckon with the history of Black land loss, the Virginia General Assembly has been taking a rare, state-sanctioned approach: formally examining how the creation or expansion of public university campuses has displaced Black communities.
A 19-member legislative commission met last month, its first convening since a mandatory hiatus during the 2025 legislative session was lifted. Enacted last year, the commission received an additional $200,000 in the state budget signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in May, a major bump from the $28,760 it was initially allocated. As it prepares to enter its second year, the group is poised to deliver Virginia's only known comprehensive statewide examination to date of how public universities displaced Black communities — and what forms of redress may be appropriate.
In Newport News, a separate task force has also been working since last year to address the displacement of a once-thriving Black neighborhood that was usurped to make way for Christopher Newport University. The neighborhood, enclosed by Shoe Lane and three other streets, was home to several generations of families who were forced to move when an all-white city council voted to seize a large portion of the area through eminent domain in the 1960s, paving the way for the school's construction. The university's expansion over time led to the acquisition of remaining homes. Today, only five remain.
The local response to probe this history, running parallel to the state-level work, is led by the city and university and has laid bare ongoing tensions among some impacted residents of the neighborhood and their descendants. The community members have raised integrity questions about the task force's work, and frustrations remain high for some who say they are still waiting for the impact of their displacement to be fully acknowledged and addressed.
'We've done this before, time and time again,' said Angela Mickel, one of several attendees of a March documentary screening and discussion on Black community displacement, who expressed frustration towards public officials over long-term inaction on the issue. Like others in attendance, Mickel said she felt formal recognition of the community's complete loss was long overdue.
'We have many stories that we need to tell, and Newport News needs to reconcile with its own history.'
While Virginia's state commission and the Newport News task force have indicated that engagement with impacted residents will be critical to their work, both are still navigating how best to do so.
At the state level, the legislative commission has created a subcommittee focused on African American displacement in Virginia. When they reconvened in May, members adopted a formal work plan outlining how the commission will gather input from those directly affected by university expansion. That could include in-person public hearings, virtual comment periods, or an online platform for submitting written testimony.
'This particular work is pivotal to the work of the committee,' said Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax, who suggested that outside experts — not legislators themselves — take the lead on organizing and facilitating community engagement. 'I would not assume that the legislators would be responsible for that … that would speak to the level of integrity of the work that comes out of that committee.'
All four subcommittees — tasked with conducting research, liaising with universities, documenting community displacement, and exploring forms of relief — have meetings scheduled through the summer and fall, with the goal of presenting recommendations for the full commission to consider ahead of the 2026 legislative session.
Commission Chair Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, expressed optimism about the direction of the work, particularly with the additional funding recently approved by the General Assembly.
'We are moving in the direction of and the process of acknowledging history, and listening to those who have been impacted, and seeking a pathway toward healing and repair,' she said.
A date for a public forum is still being determined in Newport News, where the city-university task force formed in April 2024 has faced criticism over limited transparency and slow outreach — largely due to lack of public access to its meetings and sporadic updates on its progress.
The task force has said outreach to families is ongoing, though members have also acknowledged that coordinating those meetings has taken longer than expected.
In a February city council work session, as members raised questions about the task force's outreach efforts, the group's co-chair, Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany, said the group wanted to prepare before beginning 'full-blown' outreach, calling the issue 'extremely sensitive' and noting task force members didn't want to approach the community with a 'half-baked pie.'
Public remarks from at least one task force member have indicated that the impending public meeting would involve gathering community feedback.
'We want to get the input from the citizens, from the families that lived on Shoe Lane, and from other families that grew up in Newport News,' said task force member Councilman Cleon Long at the March event.
As Newport News formally examines the impact of university expansion on Black families, stories of similar displacement are reemerging from other parts of the state.
Adrienne Jackson-Franklin said her father, Otis, was young when her grandparents were among those forced to relocate when Longwood University in Farmville expanded into a bordering Black community in the mid-20th century. Former residents and locals in the area recall that the university cleared community blocks in phases to build dorms and academic buildings, displacing many families by threatening or using eminent domain.
'You lose friends, you lose connections, you now have to rebuild, and it's almost like starting over,' Jackson said. She told the Virginia Mercury that she'd be willing to speak with the commission and believes it's important that the state group address generational 'deep-seated trauma' that may exist among families impacted by the displacement.
Lamberts Point, a once-thriving middle-class Black community in Hampton Roads, was partially razed in the 1960s and '70s to make way for a branch campus of the college of William & Mary — now the main campus of Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk. Thomas Harris, a longtime resident who moved to the area in the 1970s, said he has worked with remaining neighbors to address the continuing impacts of the expansion.
'I think they should have a whole lot to say about it,' Harris said of displaced families. 'It tore up their homes. It tore up their families—they had to leave and go somewhere else to start all over again.'
Longwood and Old Dominion have both said they have worked to improve relationships with communities impacted by their expansion.
Longwood pledged to end its use of eminent domain for campus expansion in 2004, according to a spokesperson. ODU offers financial support for Lamberts Point residents admitted to the university, including scholarships either specifically for neighborhood residents or those that prioritize them.
Across the country, efforts to reckon with university-led displacement of communities of color vary. Davarian Baldwin, a historian and urban studies scholar, said Virginia's statewide investigation stands out nationally as few other states have sanctioned similar examining bodies.
'In my research I haven't heard of another one,' Baldwin said. 'There could be commissions in almost every state in the union (but) a reparations commission around urban renewal is singular.' Baldwin co-founded the Renewal Project, a national network launched in 2022 to support local responses to campus-related displacement, including efforts in states like Kentucky and Colorado.
In both states, impacted residents are directly involved to some degree in reconciliation efforts. Descendants of the displaced Jonesville community in south Kentucky sit on a reconciliation workgroup led by Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, which was established in 2022 to identify ways to address the lasting impacts of the neighborhood's destruction in the 1960s.
In Denver, descendants of a Latino community displaced from the former Auraria neighborhood in the 1970s hold the majority of seats on a nine-member council formed last year comprising representatives from several universities involved in the original displacement, including the University of Colorado Denver. The council oversees the future use of homes and a church that were saved from demolition, now part of a historic park.
The months ahead may bring key developments in both the state and local investigation.
In addition to the impending public forum, members of the Newport News task force have publicly said a website could launch this spring or summer to make their research findings publicly accessible.
At the May meeting, the commission was still working to acquire responses to a survey it distributed this winter to most of the state's 45 public institutions of higher education listed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The survey included several questions about campus expansion, including queries on schools' knowledge of displacement in Black communities. The Virginia Mercury polled the 15 four-year public institutions and 23 community colleges on that list. A majority said they had responded or planned to respond to the commission's survey, including Christopher Newport, Longwood and Old Dominion University.
McQuinn said she expects the additional funding received from the amended budget will allow the commission to bring in more resources which could support the subcommittees work including hiring consultants or, if needed, project managers.
'One of the reasons that we were not able to make as much progress as I think we needed to make was because there was limited funds,' McQuinn said.
'The additional dollars are going to be essential in us feeling that the outcome (is) something that is worthy of the community.'
Davarian Baldwin, a historian and urban studies scholar, outlined figurative and tangible acts of repair universities, the state and localities could enact as they address the long-term impact of Black community displacement statewide.
Repair for property-impacted residents could take structural forms such as: direct payments to affected families; scholarships for descendants of those displaced; community development initiatives like affordable housing and community centers; and Community Benefit Agreements ensuring job training and procuring contracts from small businesses.
Given that universities are often property tax-exempt, an alternative approach could involve redirecting Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) directly to affected communities rather than the city.
Commemorative efforts could include integrating the community's history into university curricula; placing historical markers; renaming buildings; and other forms of public recognition that acknowledge the past while fostering ongoing community engagement.
This story was produced in partnership with Columbia Journalism School's Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship program. Reporter Brandi Kellam is a member of the 2025-2026 class of Spencer fellows.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE