Communities lost churches, green space and whole swaths of homes.
The nations pursuit of cross-country connectivity held both promise and peril for Americans of color.
The affected communities were rarely consulted before a development project impacting their fate broke ground.
As explained inPublic Roads, a magazine published by theU.S.
The people who lost their homes and properties through eminent domain were compensated, but minimally.
According toSavings.org, $200 in 1962 is equivalent to about $1,859 in 2022 dollars.
During those same six decades, $3,000 became $27,880.
That freeway cost my family everything."
The sociocultural cohesion of shared spaces, arts, education and faith-based institutions was torn apart.
People became intergenerationally exposed to profound health risks through environmental pollutants.
By building highwaysthroughthe city rather thanaroundit, Moses leveled neighborhoods he deemed to be slums.
Among his many simultaneously held positions was the chairman of the New York City Slum Clearance Committee.
In particular, significant portions of the interstate highway system were built through Black neighborhoods.
The deal creates a first-ever program to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure.
The manual goes on to recommend using highways to separate white and Black communities.
“I didn’t realize it as a kid,” Foxx recalled in a2016 NPR interview.
Another commonality among the communities with highways running through them are the dangers faced by pedestrians.
(See the Before the Highway interviews with twoRochesterresidents.)
Jimmie Briggsis a documentary storyteller, writer and advocate for racial and gender equity.
Page published February 1, 2023
