Why Pit Neighbors Against Neighbors? by Frances Colbert-Terrell

Letters
Alexandria Gazette Packet
July 2, 2014

Why Pit Neighbors

Against Neighbors?

To the Editor:

My name is Frances Colbert-Terrell and I

have read with great interest the stories you

have written and the letters you have published

on the City of Alexandria’s proposal to allow

sporting events at night at T.C. Williams High

School.

I am president of the Seminary Civic Association,

an area of 29 homes adjacent to the

football field and Quaker Lane. We are the 4th

generation of African Americans whose original

community of approximately 61 homes was

completely decimated by the city for the construction

of T.C. Williams High School. It has

often been lamented that of all of the property

in the City of Alexandria during the early ‘60s,

the Civil Rights era, the only place the city

could find to place the new high school was

right in the middle of this viable, self-sustaining

community of homeowners, which, by the

way, had been established during the mid to

late 1800s.

And if that wasn’t horrific enough, we were

still reeling from the destruction of “The Fort”

community. That community also of African

Americans which had settled on the deserted

military fort shortly after the Civil War, had

begun establishing home ownership in 1877.

They lived there until the 1950-60s when the

homeowners were kicked off of their property

by, what else, eminent domain for the construction

of the historic Fort Ward Park and Museum.

That community was an extension of our

own Seminary community.

Our community of real estate tax paying citizens,

extending from Johnson’s Lane, a few

yards north of Bishop and Quaker Lane back

to Chinquapin, crossing King over to Braddock

was downsized by the city from again 61 to 29

houses on Quaker Lane and in a cul-de-sac on

Woods Lane bordering T.C. Williams. Why just

29 houses from such a large area? Well several

of those homeowners were seniors who

had already paid off their homes

and were no longer in a position

to be able to take on a new mortgage.

They were forced to move

out of the community as the cost

of a new “urban renewal” home

was higher than what the city had

paid for the demolition of their

homes. Back then, coming out of

a time period when ownership of

anything was impossible to them,

it was a code of honor for families

to pass on their property to their

heirs debt free. And to justify this

mass destruction, which of course,

was done for the greater good of

the community as a whole, the city

placed the derogatory label of

“Mudtown” on our community

which had heretofore been known

as simply Seminary. Mudtown to

us is synonymous to the “N-word.”

The Seminary community has

made many sacrifices for the public

good. We have given a lot in

support of public education in Alexandria.

In fact, in 1927 William Wood

whose family still resides in our

community today actually gave a

portion of the land where TC sits

today for the establishment of the

first African American Rosenwald

Elementary School.

As most may know, with the construction

of the school in 1965,

there was an agreement between

the school, city and our community

that no lights would be placed

on any athletic field in consideration

of the quality of life of the

community. In 2004, TC was enlarged,

and that agreement was

respected.

Now, city leaders are attempting

to do an about face; to break their

word; to renege on their promise,

to put up lights for night sporting

events. Frankly, the location of the

football field does not lend itself,

and has never lent itself, to continuous

day and night use for football

and other sports. Actually, we

have no problem with the students

having night football games in Alexandria,

but rather than renege

on a promise city leaders should

explore the use of more suitable

sites for a day-night sports complex.

George Washington Middle

School and Ben Brenman Park

seem to be alternatives. When I

was in high school, GW and Parker

Gray both had night football

games. Unfortunately Parker Gray

school and field were removed.

We do empathize with the students

being denied Friday night

games at TC, but lights on the stadium

and the ensuing challenges

those continuous lights would

present, including noise, traffic

congestion, crowd behavior, and

litter, would have an adverse and

detrimental impact on our community.

For those who adamantly support

lights, and consider us selfish

and opposed to change consider

this, the students are inconvenienced

for four years; our sacrifice

would be for a life time. City

leaders need to be good neighbors

and work with long-standing communities

rather than force decisions

in that pit residents against

each other.

Frances Colbert Terrell

Alexandria