I hate reading this, but we need to know how and why things are the way they are today. Nashville (near where I live) has a similar story. The thriving black community on and around Jefferson Street was all but wiped out by the construction of I-40. If you look at a map of Nashville, it's easy to see the weird northward jog that 40 takes on the west side of downtown. They went north to avoid putting the interstate through white neighborhoods. There's been a fair amount written about that decision and its implications for the black community in Nashville and beyond. (Fisk University is in that area so the interstate wasn't something that affected just black people from Nashville.)
I wish these were things I knew a long time ago. I recently was in a conversation discussing how our history lessons are crafted to serve a narrative. I realize it's impossible to teach everything, but there are some very significant portions of our history that never or barely see the light of day.
Thanks for the kudos. And, this actually explains why things are the way they are today. Today has historical context, and in Birmingham, this is it. You can't understand today without this history. In Syracuse, NY where this also happened, there's a proposal to remove the interstate and restore the black communities economic sector destroyed by urban renewal!
Yes, what we see today didn't "just happen." The pictures of Jefferson Street before and after I-40 are so sad to see. There have been some proposals about helping mitigate the physical barrier of the interstate (tunnels, pedestrian bridges, etc.), but it appears to me at least to be a pretty half-hearted attempt at making amends. The Syracuse proposal is much more exciting! I had read about it but haven't heard anything recently about whether they are really moving forward with it.
Yep. Baltimore is another clear case study. I think of the "Road to Nowhere" that wiped out a huge swath of west B'more and was never even finished. It's all well-documented in books by Antero Pietila, Lawrence Lanahan, and Evans Paull.
Same happened to my ancestors' homestead in Pittsburgh's Northside, except they were of Irish descent. A Crosstown Interstate forced them to move futher out in the City. Then, except for my maiden Aunts, all moved to the near suburbs. Finally, my aunts died and now none of their descendants live in town. My thesis is that post WWII America was about the car and explosive growth. This meant that, except those who were either well organized and connected (Jewish neighborhoods) or well-off, the historic cities were just pawns in the car revolution.
As a former Birmingham resident (and still frequent visitor), this connected so many dots for me regarding the city's geography, demographics, and infrastructure. I've also witnessed these dynamics play out on a smaller scale in my nearby hometown of Tuscaloosa, where de-consolidation of local schools in the interest of "smaller neighborhood schools" (i.e., white flight, sequestering black students to "their side of town") led to significant re-segregation of not only the school system, but the community as a whole. That was followed up by the aftermath of a devastating tornado in 2011, which destroyed a majority-black/brown area of town with significant generational patterns of home and business ownership. In the interest of "rebuilding," the city effectively sold the land cheap to developers who "rebuilt" high-end condos that the local residents simply couldn't afford (and ended up driving up housing prices substantially for *everyone* in town).
Feels weird to “heart” this post - but very helpful indeed Anthony
Thanks!
A great piece you have here. 🙏🏻
Thanks sir!!
I hate reading this, but we need to know how and why things are the way they are today. Nashville (near where I live) has a similar story. The thriving black community on and around Jefferson Street was all but wiped out by the construction of I-40. If you look at a map of Nashville, it's easy to see the weird northward jog that 40 takes on the west side of downtown. They went north to avoid putting the interstate through white neighborhoods. There's been a fair amount written about that decision and its implications for the black community in Nashville and beyond. (Fisk University is in that area so the interstate wasn't something that affected just black people from Nashville.)
I wish these were things I knew a long time ago. I recently was in a conversation discussing how our history lessons are crafted to serve a narrative. I realize it's impossible to teach everything, but there are some very significant portions of our history that never or barely see the light of day.
Thanks for your writing, Anthony!
Thanks for the kudos. And, this actually explains why things are the way they are today. Today has historical context, and in Birmingham, this is it. You can't understand today without this history. In Syracuse, NY where this also happened, there's a proposal to remove the interstate and restore the black communities economic sector destroyed by urban renewal!
Yes, what we see today didn't "just happen." The pictures of Jefferson Street before and after I-40 are so sad to see. There have been some proposals about helping mitigate the physical barrier of the interstate (tunnels, pedestrian bridges, etc.), but it appears to me at least to be a pretty half-hearted attempt at making amends. The Syracuse proposal is much more exciting! I had read about it but haven't heard anything recently about whether they are really moving forward with it.
Yep. Baltimore is another clear case study. I think of the "Road to Nowhere" that wiped out a huge swath of west B'more and was never even finished. It's all well-documented in books by Antero Pietila, Lawrence Lanahan, and Evans Paull.
Wow. Such a shame!
Same happened to my ancestors' homestead in Pittsburgh's Northside, except they were of Irish descent. A Crosstown Interstate forced them to move futher out in the City. Then, except for my maiden Aunts, all moved to the near suburbs. Finally, my aunts died and now none of their descendants live in town. My thesis is that post WWII America was about the car and explosive growth. This meant that, except those who were either well organized and connected (Jewish neighborhoods) or well-off, the historic cities were just pawns in the car revolution.
As a former Birmingham resident (and still frequent visitor), this connected so many dots for me regarding the city's geography, demographics, and infrastructure. I've also witnessed these dynamics play out on a smaller scale in my nearby hometown of Tuscaloosa, where de-consolidation of local schools in the interest of "smaller neighborhood schools" (i.e., white flight, sequestering black students to "their side of town") led to significant re-segregation of not only the school system, but the community as a whole. That was followed up by the aftermath of a devastating tornado in 2011, which destroyed a majority-black/brown area of town with significant generational patterns of home and business ownership. In the interest of "rebuilding," the city effectively sold the land cheap to developers who "rebuilt" high-end condos that the local residents simply couldn't afford (and ended up driving up housing prices substantially for *everyone* in town).