"As Virginia’s public colleges and universities expanded to accommodate a growing demand for higher education, several had a target for their sprawl – majority Black neighborhoods.

Three universities — Old Dominion, Longwood, and Christopher Newport —were among the most disruptive developers in Black communities, acquiring hundreds of properties over decades, according to a new survey by a state commission. 

All but one of Virginia’s 16 state colleges and universities dug through property transactions, university records and newspaper clippings to offer an initial assessment of their displacement of Black communities. Ten schools acknowledged encroaching on Black neighborhoods, sometimes with the use or threat of eminent domain.

Five other universities reported no acquisitions, and Norfolk State University is still conducting research.

The self-reporting is a good first step, but more research needs to be done, said Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, chairwoman of the Uprooting of Black Communities commission," reports the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO. 

Photo: Christopher Newport University in Newport News is one of three Virginia universities acknowledging “extensive acquisitions” in Black neighborhoods, sometimes through eminent domain, according to a state commission. Photo: VCIJ at WHRO