In 1961, an entirely white Newport News City Council voted to dismantle a predominantly Black neighborhood to make way for what became Christopher Newport University
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones and Christopher Newport University President William Kelly announced this week the establishment of a task force to “understand, acknowledge and address the history and development of Christopher Newport University and the city’s role in that development.” The task force will research the decisions that led to the placement of the university in the Shoe Lane .
In recent months, CNU faced scrutiny over the history of its growth, which included taking land from Black residents in the 1960s through eminent domain.