DC Southwest Urban Renewal Displaces 23,000, Mostly Black Residents

Beginning in 1954, Washington DC uses Berman v. Parker (a Supreme Court eminent domain ruling) to demolish the Southwest neighborhood, home to 23,549 people — 70 percent Black — and 1,500 businesses. The Supreme Court allows the project in 1954. Residents are displaced to inadequate housing, often far from jobs. The cleared land is rebuilt as government offices and middle-class housing largely inaccessible to former residents. The case becomes the legal foundation for urban renewal displacement nationwide.