State probe into Black communities’ displacement surges forward with infusion of funds • Virginia Mercury

Virginia probe into Black communities’ displacement surges forward with infusion of funds

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)This story first appeared on the Virginia Mercury. As more states reckon with the history of Black land loss, the Virginia General Assembly has been t…

State probe into Black communities’ displacement surges forward with infusion of funds • Virginia Mercury

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 exa…