Concrete Legacy: The Effects of the Interstate Highway System on Black Communities in the U.S.

Authors

Laurel M. O'Hare, Macalester CollegeFollow

Abstract

This article examines the role that racism, racial capitalism, neoliberalism, and classism played in the construction of the Interstate Highway System as a part of 20th-century urban renewal. It will first understand the context of American urban renewal and then look at the policy specific to the Interstate Highway System. After that, I will discuss the resistance many communities portrayed and how bureaucracy stood firm against grassroots organizing. Then, this paper will explore the process of highway removal and new construction, as well as reparations for the communities most affected by the Interstate Highway System. Finally, I will give warnings of possible ramifications that could emerge from highway removal. This article is rooted in the community of Rondo/Old Rondo in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where this paper got its start. The Rondo community was targeted by city planners to be destroyed as the highway rolled in, as were many other Black communities in the United States. Hundreds of homes were damaged, but now, the community, in partnership with the city government, is making plans for repair. I recognize the importance of the Rondo community and the City of Saint Paul to the future of highway-related reparations and this paper specifically. The answer to the question of the most effective way to restore and repair affected communities lies within those very people.

Author Biography

Laurel O'Hare (she/her) will be graduating from Macalester College with a major in American Studies and minors in Educational Studies and Political Science. She is from Evanston, Illinois. She extends thanks to Professor Eric Wojchik, Professor Duchess Harris, her parents and siblings, and all others who have inspired Laurel in academia and in life.

Recommended Citation

O'Hare, Laurel M. (2024) "Concrete Legacy: The Effects of the Interstate Highway System on Black Communities in the U.S.," Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities: Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/tapestries/vol13/iss1/6

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License