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
