NC’s aging Black neighborhoods ‘walking a tightrope’ to grow while preserving identity
When Eva Henderson attended a recent Smithville community meeting, she had only one concern — could she remain in the neighborhood she grew up in?
The February Smithville Community Coalition meeting convened to update residents from Cornelius’ historically Black neighborhood about an ongoing revitalization project. The effort aims to fix lingering problems due to a lack of investment and breathe new life into the aging Black neighborhood.
Some attendees shared impassioned speeches that this was a long needed investment, while others questioned the lack of input from neighbors. The coalition has secured $7 million for the project and last year the Cornelius Town Board approved the plan.
While preservation and revitalization efforts come in many forms, experts say, years of inequities have made it harder for aging Black neighborhoods, like Smithville, to achieve those goals.
“I grew up in Smithville when it was nothing but dirt roads,” Henderson told the Charlotte Observer. “If anything is going to be done it needs to be for the neighborhood and its residents.”
Black neighborhoods have long felt the brunt of outside factors, said Takiyah Harper-Shipman, assistant professor of Africana studies at Davidson College. A lack of investment has led to food deserts, a dearth of social services and scarce transportation options, she said.
For older generations in Black neighborhoods these inequities can be longstanding: “It feels starker when you couple age with lack of access,” Harper-Shipman said.
Smithville historically had been segregated from Cornelius. The neighborhood existed for over 100 years, but was not annexed into Cornelius until 1980. The community survived, but these memories are deeply ingrained among residents, Harper-Shipman said. It also can lead to skepticism and doubts when there are talks of change.
Armetta Cathcart, a Smithville resident, said Cornelius had done nothing for the neighborhood for years — and she hopes to see something finally done for this community.
“For years I’ve lived down here,” Cathcart said.
Cornelius Mayor Woody Washam said the town is committed to improving infrastructure in Smithville. The town has committed $3.4 million for the efforts. He added the town has done more in recent years than it gets credit for.
“I think we’re in a new day,” he said. “Good things take time.”
But Henderson said communication has not been clear and consistent from the coalition.
Her sister sold the family home she lived in on South Hill Street, she said. As part of the project, it was one of the homes that needed to be demolished. She has not moved yet but could be relocated by the coalition out of the neighborhood.
Maintaining history
In Charlotte’s Hidden Valley, a second generation of Black homeowners have returned to the community and is building on its legacy of Black homeownership despite concerns of gentrification.
In Concord’s Logan neighborhood, another longstanding Black community, city officials are working alongside neighbors to ensure it receives a national historic district designation. It’s an important distinction as new developers consider building there, Logan residents have said.
In neighborhoods like Logan and Smithville, an older Black generation often stays even after younger residents have grown up and moved out, Harper-Shipman said. But the trend is often tied to a lack of investment, she said.
The younger generation may seek employment opportunities that are not provided where they live, she said. And often younger Black people have mobility not afforded to previous generations, she added.
“You have to think about those factors,” Harper-Shipman said.
Some Black neighborhoods erased years ago have seen their name carried on. Brooklyn Village, a mixed-use development project in Charlotte, is named after Brooklyn, a Black neighborhood torn down in the 1960s and 1970s under the federal urban renewal program.
Harper-Shipman said community efforts are needed to preserve the history of Black neighborhoods. If not, there could be a loss of land and history, she said. Even oral traditions can be a way of maintaining a community’s history, she added.
“If you can not actually retain the space, find ways to retain the memories,” Harper-Shipman said.
‘A tightrope’
Much of the lack of investment in Black neighborhoods can be traced back to redlining, said David Walters, professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at UNC Charlotte. The discriminatory practice withheld services from communities of color for decades, he said.
Cities constantly are changing so naturally neighborhoods will too, he said. The remnants of redlining has left its scars on cities across the country, with many neighborhoods remaining underinvested.
A 2015 study by three Stanford researchers showed even among white and Black families with similar incomes, white families were more likely to live in “good neighborhoods.” This includes neighborhoods with high-quality schools, playgrounds and transportation options.
The legacy of redlining and gentrification shapes conversations around improvements for aging Black neighborhoods, Walters said. Investment in neighborhoods has historically come amid a change in who lived there.
In more recent years revitalization has come to mean reinvesting in a neighborhood with minimum disruption for its residents, Walters said.
“It’s an incredibly fine balancing line,” Walters said. “It’s like walking a tightrope.”
But it once meant to simply tear down and build anew.
“And that happened all over Charlotte,” Walters said. “Historically, African-American communities have borne the brunt of that for decades.”
What’s next for Smithville
Smithville neighbors continue to debate the community’s future as it ages. Residents will have first choice in the new homes built through the revitalization project, said Willie Jones, a Smithville Community Coalition member.
The deadline to spend the funding secured by the coalition is December 2026, he said.
“We’re not going to create a situation where something bad happens to people,” Jones said.
Ron Potts, another resident and coalition member, said it’s the private investors who want the community.
“We’re trying to keep them out with this plan,” Potts said.
But a petition with more than 30 addresses has called for the creation of a new coalition for residents.
Thurman Ross, another Smithville native and former Cornelius town commissioner, said what’s tentatively called the Smithville Residents Coalition would be more inclusive of all neighbors’ concerns.
“We’re not in total disagreement with the plan,” Ross said. “We just want residents’ voices to be heard.”
The next Smithville Community Coalition meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., March 27, Union Bethel AME Zion Church, 20736 Catawba Ave.
This story was originally published March 12, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
