Highway Construction Destroys Historic Black Neighborhoods

Highway Construction Destroys Historic Black Neighborhoods. The Cloverleaf beneath Interstates 65 and 85. , The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System over a ten year period - the largest public works project in American history to that time. , State and city officials sought locations for the new interstates where transportation paths were reasonable, but also in areas where land acquisition costs were low. Many of these "right of way" areas were selected in minority communities throughout the US. In the South, examples of strategic targeting of black communities have been documented, including Birmingham, New Orleans, Miami and Montgomery., Interstates 85 and 65 intersect precisely at the heart of the historic black community that was instrumental in the civil rights movement. Known today as "The Cloverleaf," this intersection and the surrounding interstates construction targeted where the leadership and strength of the movement was grounded including its strongest churches, organizations, and thriving black neighborhoods., Entire communities vanished as residents were relocated and businesses closed. The remaining structures of Holt Street Baptist Church (home of the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott), Mount Zion AME Church, First CME Church and Loveless School stand as sentinels of the ravages of time and politics.