Urban Renewal and the End of Black Culture in Charlottesville, Virginia: An Oral History of Vinegar Hill

Documents a frequently untold story about how Black neighborhoods were destroyed by urban removal in the 1970s; and now how the public housing that was built to replace it, often gets moved and/or marginalized.

An excellent overview of the local history of "urban removal" in Charlottesville, Virginia. Presents the destruction of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood in the context of the local black history and larger racial issues at the time.The book is built primarily on personal narratives. The commentary is helpful to strong it together, but could be more extensive. Additional readings helpful to place the local history in the context of a broader history of the devastating effects of urban renewal.Also recommended: Masse, Douglas S. and Denton, Nancy A., American Apartheid, Segregation and the Making of the Underclass

As i was not born in Charlottesville, the book told me a lot about this town and why the black people are not very trusting.