School of Destruction

A Word … with Jason Johnson

Against the odds, a tight-knit group of Black families created the community of Shoe Lane in Newport News, Virginia in the early 20th century. Residents bought land, and often built their homes, expecting to hand down a thriving African American neighborhood to future generations. Then Christopher Newport University systematically took the land over, pushing out all but a handful of now-elderly residents. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Brandi Kellam, who helped bring the story to light. She co-reported Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood for ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.

Guest: Journalist Brandi Kellam

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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