Virginia’s probe into public universities’ displacement of Black neighborhoods no longer theoretical

Brandi Kellam, Virginia Mercury

A Newport News task force revealed its preliminary findings in a recent meeting, the most public update yet in a process many residents have urged be more transparent

Virginia’s examination of its buried history of university expansion into Black neighborhoods is entering new territory — one that may test how well research efforts translate to accountability.

A legislative commission in Richmond has spent the past year surveying nearly every public institution of higher education, finding that at least 11 cited using eminent domain or other means to acquire land in majority-Black neighborhoods. At the same time, a city–university task force in Newport News is documenting the local impact of one such case involving Christopher Newport University (CNU), sharing new details about its research into the erasure of a historic Black community. 

Together, the statewide study and local inquiry illustrate how Virginia’s reckoning over displacement may unfold. At minimum, both have begun to make records and acknowledgment of these histories more public.

Early findings

The Newport News task force — formed nearly two years ago by Mayor Phillip Jones and CNU President William Kelly — held its first public forum earlier this month. Co-chairs Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany III and CNU Provost Quentin Kidd, along with four other members, outlined progress documenting property acquisitions and interviewing impacted families.

According to their presentation, researchers have identified about 130 properties tied to the university’s expansion since the 1960s and are compiling those records into a public digital map that will be housed on the Newport News Public Library’s website.

Councilman Marcellus Harris III, who grew up in the displaced neighborhood, is helping lead interviews.

Learn more about this research.

Earlier this year, researchers released a report on Harvard’s ties to slavery.

Follow more news stories like this.