‘Uprooted’ Film On Newport News’ Displacement Attracts Packed House

Special to the Guide
NEWPORT NEWS

A packed house filled the fellowship hall of Wesley Grove United Church of Christ last Thursday evening as more than 120 people gathered for a night of remembrance and reflection.

Families from a historic Black community in Newport News – displaced by university expansion – joined concerned residents, education leaders, and elected officials for a discussion on the community’s destruction and the ongoing impact of displacement.

The event, held at the C. Waldo Scott Center for H.O.P.E., housed within the church, served as both a homecoming and a call to action. It featured a screening of the Emmy award-winning documentary “Uprooted,”  part of a 2023 investigative series examining the erasure of a once-thriving Black neighborhood that was racially targeted for displacement and replaced by Christopher Newport University (CNU).

The screening marked the first time the film – produced in collaboration with ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO – was shown in conversation with members of the five remaining households, alongside displaced families and their descendants. Panelists Dwayne Johnson and Millicent Wilson, representing the remaining families, shared personal reflections on what was lost.

Johnson, whose parents appear in the documentary, spoke to the deep sense of community. “As far as being a Black community – instilling the values of going out, seeing the world but still having that base – that’s sorely missed.” Wilson described the trust and close ties that defined the neighborhood. “To have a neighbor down the street pick you up in the morning at four or five years old, take you to another school, spend the day, take care of you – your parents had to really trust [that] person.”

A mini-exhibit also debuted at the event, co-designed by Brandi Kellam – lead reporter of the “Uprooted” series and director of the accompanying film – and local artist Hemadri Modi. It featured personal archives from longtime community resident James Johnson, including photographs and documents that showcased the life and demise of the neighborhood.

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Historian Audrey Perry Williams offered broader historical context, situating the story within a regional pattern across Hampton Roads. “This is nothing new to us,” she said. “When I think about us as a people, I think – they did it because it was us.”

The evening was also a moment of reunion. Descendant Norma G. Wells-Green reflected on her family’s generational legacy on the land. “The house that I lived in – I brought my family there too. Five generations were on that piece of land.”

Angela Mickel, another descendant, spoke to the neighborhood’s visibility and standing within the city. “We were family, and we were very prominent in Newport News,” she said. “Newport News needs to reconcile with its own history. When you’ve lived this – when I can’t go to my grandma’s house because the football stadium sits on it, there’s a problem.”

As part of a question-and-answer session, Kellam acknowledged the local and state bodies formed to address the issues raised in her reporting, which include a state legislative commission and a local CNU and City of Newport News task force. “We’re about a year or so into those different bodies looking into this,” Kellam said. “It remains to be seen what happens because of that.”

Audience members raised questions about those ongoing efforts and called for greater urgency and accountability. Newport News Councilman Cleon Long, who serves on the task force, addressed the crowd directly.

“This council really wants to move forward and bring together the community, because there is a history that we have to tell. And we need to move forward and make sure this history doesn’t start over again.”

Kellam also expressed hope that the latest attention on the issue would present an opportunity for lasting impact. “It would be a shame for all of this work to be done for it to just go right back under the rug again – and no one know the history of this community in the way that they know it today.”

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Mayor Phillip Jones, who briefly attended, emphasized the city’s commitment to dialogue in a statement to a reporter at the event. “This is a top priority for the city council, so we wanted to show up and support the community.”

The event was hosted by Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), in partnership with Descendant Works Media, Contemporary Arts Network (CAN), and the C. Waldo Scott Center, as part of HOME’s ongoing “Let’s Talk About Housing” series, which explores both past injustices and future possibilities for fair housing in Virginia.