Empty Promises
Urban renewal failed on every level to make good on its promises for a renewed Hayti and adequate replacement for lost housing and businesses. Black leaders and the Hayti community were left stung by a sense of betrayal
“The so-called Urban Renewal program in Durham is not only the biggest farce ever concocted in the mind of mortal man… but just another scheme to relieve Negroes of property.”
– Louis Alson, Carolina Times Editor, 1965
Materials such as these were sent out to all residents in the affected areas of Hayti. Notice the promises made to working-class Black residents.
Courtesy Jack Preiss Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
“I was told I would be able to rent, lease, or buy my own building and have more chairs in my beauty parlor to rent to other operators… Almost 30 years have passed and I am still operating a single chair in my home.”
-Willa McKeithan, Hayti business owner
Ongoing demolition and construction over the course of the decade was extremely disruptive to the remaining businesses both in Hayti and in downtown. The hopes of investors lining up to redevelop cleared land never happened.
Courtesy Durham Herald Co. Newspaper, North Carolina Collection, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This video examines Hayti and the impact of Urban Renewal and the construction of NC-147. Completed by Catherine Farmer, 2016
Urban renewal failed on every level to make good on its promises for a renewed Hayti and adequate replacement for lost housing and businesses. Black leaders and the Hayti community were left stung by a sense of betrayal
“The so-called Urban Renewal program in Durham is not only the biggest farce ever concocted in the mind of mortal man… but just another scheme to relieve Negroes of property.”
– Louis Alson, Carolina Times Editor, 1965
Materials such as these were sent out to all residents in the affected areas of Hayti. Notice the promises made to working-class Black residents
Courtesy Jack Preiss Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
“I was told I would be able to rent, lease, or buy my own building and have more chairs in my beauty parlor to rent to other operators… Almost 30 years have passed and I am still operating a single chair in my home.”
-Willa McKeithan, Hayti business owner
