One grant will take Knoxville's African American task force nearly halfway to its $100M goal

Knoxville's African American Equity Restoration Task Force unanimously decided a $42 million federal grant will count toward its $100 million goal toward making amends for urban removal. The initiative, commonly called urban renewal, destroyed primarily Black neighborhoods from the 1950s to 1970s to make way for promised new development that was only partially fulfilled and cut deeply into generational wealth for thousands of Black Knoxvillians.

“I want to be clear that there is no amount of money that can ever atone for the damage that has been caused by urban renewal. When you are putting forth a resolution you do have to have numbers attached. That is just a goal but the work doesn’t stop at $100 million,” said Gwen McKenzie, a Knoxville City Council and task force member.

In March, Knoxville secured a $42.6 million federal grant to help reconnect East Knoxville to downtown, which was separated by the James White Parkway and other projects that flattened historically Black homes, places of worship and businesses.

The project will add trails and better pedestrian walkways to improve access to employment and recreational amenities. The task force debated whether to count the federal grant money toward its goal. Some said they wanted the $100 million to more directly address the Black community's lack of access to generational wealth and economic sustainability.

That conversation led to a postponement of the vote, which was planned for April. But on May 13, task force members agreed 7-0 to say the grant was in line with their goals.

McKenzie, who started the conversation in 2020 by presenting the council with a resolution to create the task force and the goal, said the group is making progress and there's more to come.

She said the task force's success is dependent on support from the next mayor to carry out its mission. “We are here as a task force because this resolution was approved by city council. We are sitting here today because of that. I don’t think that urban renewal would even be a conversation had this resolution not ever been passed.

"My goal is for this is to continue on to infinity. And how we operate in this space will set the tone for the level of support we get going forward after Mayor Kincannon’s term ends."

Task force member Brandon Hardin, who previously raised concerns about accepting the grant as part of the task force's work, urged the group to be more intentional going forward with its language.

“During urban renewal, our communities were directly targeted. It ripped out a lot of generational wealth in our communities. Going forward this must be a collaborative effort with the entire city, state and federal government to restore as much economic and generational wealth directly to the Black community as possible," Hardin said. "I am voting with the understanding that this is a beginning and the start to be able to be more poignant in the future with our funding goals."

Others said the grant doesn't get to the heart of the matter or help heal the community.

“This is disgraceful. Urban renewal was a deliberate attempt to destroy the Black community. Communities all over the United States of America were ripped out," Umoja Abdul-Ahad, founder of Knoxville’s City Council Movement and longtime community organizer, told the task force.

"We are going to continue to organize and let the community know about what’s going on because they are being left in the dark. We wouldn’t be here today if the generations before us didn’t genuflect and acquiesce. None of this money is going to directly make our community better."

Lloyd Gable said that as someone who was directly harmed by urban removal, he sees the improvements as a step in the right direction.

“I remember when urban renewal came and remember how my mother was disjointed. I walked these streets in Mountain View. So I see this project as a chance for improvement and what’s wrong with that? I believe we have to start somewhere. We’ve got an avenue now and we didn’t have this before,” Gable said.

How we got here

From 1959 to 1974, Knoxville initiated projects to reshape its urban environment. This encompassed the demolition of homes and commercial structures on the eastern side of downtown, alongside the establishment of the James White Parkway's interstate loop.

The Riverfront-Willow Street, Mountainview and Morningside projects included construction of the Knoxville Civic Coliseum and changes to Interstate 40 and the James White Parkway.

The work severed Black communities from the city's civic and business hub. This further disconnected people from economic opportunity, and those divisions persist today.

When the task force was finalized in 2021, members outlined spending priorities. With a dedication to substantial restitution, the city committed to a $100 million, primarily dependent on securing grants.

Angela Dennis is the Knox News race, justice and equity reporter. Email angela.dennis@knoxnews.com. X formerly called Twitter @AngeladWrites. Instagram @angeladenniswrites. Facebook at Angela Dennis Journalist.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville grant connecting neighborhoods counts for task force's goal