Highways and History: Archival Documentation of Urban Renewal and ”Black Removal”

Connecting the Docs: True Stories from the Old North State

This episode tells the story of three North Carolinian communities and their intersection with highways and the urban renewal projects of the mid-20th century. The first story we explore is the experience of Durham’s Hayti neighborhood and the dismantling of a self-sustaining Black community. The next act of neighborhood destruction comes to us as Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow community was wiped away for Capital Boulevard and later gentrified. The final story of paving over communities comes from what is historically known as Southside and South Park in downtown Raleigh. This story illustrates how communities fought back and features Shaw University and an educational charrette that proposed a different outcome.

Sources Mentioned:

Terry Sanford Papers:

https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/PC_1851_Terry_Sanford_Papers.html

Durham Urban Renewal Records Exhibit:

https://www.digitalnc.org/exhibits/durham/

News and Observer Negative File, 1938-2018:

https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/PHC_NEWSOBSERVER_News_and_Obser_.html

Albert Barden Photograph Collection, 1910-1953:

https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/PHC_BARDEN_Albert_Barden_Photog_.html

North Carolina Digital State Documents Collection:

https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll9/id/517845/rec/32

Department of Transportation Planning and Programming: Transportation Planning File, 1953-1989 - No finding aid, unprocessed.

Flickr:

Smoky Hollow, Raleigh, NC

https://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/albums/72157690696300263

Southside, Raleigh, NC

https://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/albums/72157666781993290/with/26355667432/