Virginia's Probe Into Public Universities' Displacement Of Black Neighborhoods No Longer Theoretical

By Brandi Kellam, Virginia Mercury

November 13, 2025

Virginia’s examination of its buried history of university expansion into Black neighborhoods is entering new territory — one that may test how well research efforts translate to accountability.

Virginia’s examination of its buried history of university expansion into Black neighborhoods is entering new territory — one that may test how well research efforts translate to accountability.

A legislative commission in Richmond has spent the past year surveying nearly every public institution of higher education, finding that at least 11cited using eminent domain or other means to acquire land in majority-Black neighborhoods. At the same time, a city–university task force in Newport News is documenting the local impact of one such case involving Christopher Newport University (CNU), sharing new details about its research into the erasure of a historic Black community.

Together, the statewide study and local inquiry illustrate how Virginia’s reckoning over displacement may unfold. At minimum, both have begun to make records and acknowledgment of these histories more public.

Early findings

The Newport News task force — formed nearly two years ago by Mayor Phillip Jones and CNU President William Kelly — held its first public forum earlier this month. Co-chairs Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany III and CNU Provost Quentin Kidd, along with four other members, outlined progress documenting property acquisitions and interviewing impacted families.

According to their presentation, researchers have identified about 130 properties tied to the university’s expansion since the 1960s and are compiling those records into a public digital map that will be housed on the Newport News Public Library’s website.

Councilman Marcellus Harris III, who grew up in the displaced neighborhood, is helping lead interviews. Harris noted eight had been completed so far, with up to 15 more planned. Members expect to release a final report in the second half of 2026, with another public meeting planned to present recommendations.

A map from the Newport News–CNU Task Force website detailing the group’s research was shared with attendees during a public forum. The map is intended to illustrate the areas examined as part of the task force’s study. (Photo by Brandi Kellam/Virginia Mercury)

The presentation was the task force’s most detailed update to date. Previous news releases on the university’s website offered only broad language about research and outreach to the dismay of some families, local citizens, and advocates who have been urging the group to be more open with its process.

In their first on-camera, sit-down interview with the Virginia Mercury in early November, Bethany and Kidd said the cautious pace reflects a desire to ensure accuracy before releasing information publicly.

“We needed to get to a point with the actual facts so that we could provide an update that was meaningful,” Kidd said.

Task force members said much of their work has focused on understanding the scope of displacement and how best to document it. They also described that lengthy process as key to fully understanding both the history and its impact.

“Our task force refuses to issue recommendations that are performative and carry no teeth, because we know that would deepen distrust,” said member and City Councilman Cleon Long during the presentation. “We do not want to send proposed recommendations that are dead on arrival.”

The work represents uncharted territory for the group.

“There is no blueprint,” Bethany said. “We’re learning as we go.”

Christopher Newport University Provost Quentin Kidd speaks to attendees during a public forum of the Newport News–CNU Task Force in early November. Kidd serves as co-chair of the group. (Photo by Brandi Kellam/Virginia Mercury)

Homeowners seek clarity, concrete outcomes

Long before the public meeting, the task force faced calls for greater transparency about the makeup of the task force and why its meetings were closed.

Citizens raised concerns at several council meetings and community events about the lack of public access to the task force’s meetings. Letters to Mayor Phillip Jones and CNU President William Kelly urged appointing descendants or expanding citizen participation, while correspondence to the task force itself sought clearer details about its purpose.

The co-chairs said their approach — prioritizing research before engagement — was meant to build credibility, and said they remain confident in that decision despite public criticism.

“At the end of the day, you have to be confident in the work you did,” Kidd said.

Roughly 40 to 50 people attended the presentation, including current and former residents, CNU faculty and community members. Questions were collected during three separate small-group breakout discussions facilitated by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. Participants said conversations centered on transparency, university expansion plans and potential forms of repair.

Melvin Byrd, who grew up on Prince Drew Road, said he would like to see the website include more transparency about how the remaining property acquisitions occurred.

“The college’s original charter was not supposed to expand beyond (that) boundary line,” he said. “They did, and the methods by which they obtained that land may or may not have been above board.”

During his session, he said two attendees suggested the university establish a fund or set-aside for descendants of displaced families. Byrd also said he hoped to see the task force make more of its property data publicly accessible.

Homeowners who still live in the neighborhood expressed desire for tangible outcomes.

“I know the history,” said Katie Luck, one of the five remaining residents. “Now I want to know Christopher Newport’s plans for our community. I’m just not getting any answers.”

The lack of answers has kept her from improving her property, Luck said.

“I had great plans for my home, but because of what’s been going on, we haven’t done anything to it except paint the shutters, put on a new roof, and screen the porch. That’s it.”

Gail Guynn, who lives in one of the five remaining homes in the community, expressed similar sentiments.

“They’ve shared their research more publicly,” she said, “but what matters more to me is how honestly they’ll talk about the harmful decisions that were made, who made them, and how those decision makers will be held accountable.” Local pastors Andrew Millard and William Blackwell Jr., who have been vocal critics of the task force’s transparency over the past year, said the update was encouraging but overdue.

“We weren’t looking for results a year ago,” Millard said. “We just wanted to know what they were doing.”

Millard said it was helpful to hear the task force is interviewing displaced families but still believes descendants should be directly represented on it. He also urged the university to be forthright about its future development.

Andrew Millard, a Newport News pastor and vocal critic of the task force, sits among attendees during the public forum hosted by the Newport News–CNU Task Force. Millard has urged the group to demonstrate greater transparency and accountability in its examination of Black family displacement. (Photo by Brandi Kellam/Virginia Mercury)

“One thing the university needs to do is be honest about its future expansion plans — whether that 2030 plan is still on the books or not,” he said, referring to a previously reported university site plan that called for acquiring the remaining houses in the neighborhood by that time.

Blackwell said the task force’s November update was a sign of progress but urged the group to improve its communication, suggesting the website as a tool for more consistent updates

“Providing even brief highlights when full details aren’t available would help keep everyone informed and foster greater transparency,” Blackwell said.

He also emphasized the importance of direct engagement with affected families. “A decision has to be made one way or another,” he said. “Are we going to do reparations, a plaque, something to recognize the group? That should come from the people who were impacted — but if you don’t talk to them, then you’re doing it in a silo.”

While the task force did not outline a formal framework, its recent updates offered some indication of the guiding principles shaping its approach to recommendations. Members have expressed a desire to be intentional in their work and ensure it honors the community. At the November meeting, they also sought to distance themselves from the practical implementation of proposed recommendations – emphasizing the group “lacks the authority” to enact measures and operates separately from the city and university offices that could ultimately make those decisions.

At the same time, several members hold influential positions within those very institutions. Bethany and Long serve on the Newport News City Council, while Kidd and Vidal Dickerson, another task force member, hold executive-level roles at Christopher Newport University.

The path forward

Looking ahead, the local task force members said insights from the November meeting will guide the next phase of the group’s work. Updates on the task force’s progress could drop soon after the state commission’s current deadline to complete its work.

The commission’s research subcommittee is working to verify universities’ survey responses using public data and records and is seeking to hire a project coordinator to support that effort. Lawmakers approved additional funding earlier this year, bolstering the commission’s continued operation through mid-2026.

The commission’s survey responses could signal growing university collaboration in helping the legislative group document displacement histories. Of the 11 institutions that acknowledged using eminent domain or acquiring property in majority-Black neighborhoods, universities including Christopher Newport, Longwood, Old Dominion, Radford, Virginia Commonwealth, and the Virginia Military Institute confirmed such activity. Respondents also outlined the types of records available to support that history, ranging from real estate transactions and property assessments to letters and newspaper clippings related to land purchases.

In Newport News, Bethany and Kidd declined to elaborate on the outlook of the group’s final recommendations, saying they are not far enough along in their research to determine that. They did say they hope any eventual outcomes reflect the intent behind their work.

“I wouldn’t feel good if we produced a report and made recommendations that weren’t actionable,” Kidd said. “And I wouldn’t feel good if we made recommendations that were so narrowly actionable that they didn’t really seem like much.”

Bethany added that he hopes the process ultimately strengthens trust between the task force and the community and that it “feels confident in the work we’ve been able to accomplish.”

Editor’s note: This story was produced with support from the Education Writers Association and Columbia Journalism School’s Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship program. Reporter Brandi Kellam is a member of the 2025 EWA Fellowship cohort and 2025-2026 class of Spencer fellows.

This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit VirginiaMercury.com.