In 1971, Raleigh began destroying one of its oldest and largest Black neighborhoods when Mayor Seby Jones smacked the first house with a gold-plated sledgehammer.
By the time it finished, Raleigh had wiped out roughly 600 homes and 60 businesses just south of downtown, toppling Church of Christ and mowing down the Blue Front Grocery.
Battle Street, Grape Street, Jamaica Street and Cuba Street all disappeared…