Description
"A Taste of Vinegar," an historical children's novel, explores the devastating effects of 1950s and 1960s urban renewal on Vinegar Hill, an African American neighborhood in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was demolished in 1965 after an all-white local government declared it a "slum" in the wake of Massive Resistance. Vinegar Hill is a specific example of a much larger phenomenon: the nationwide displacement of hundreds and thousands of African-Americans to make way for urban redevelopment projects that white-run localities deemed more worthy. This project fills a gap in children's literature, illustrating the historical significance of urban renewal to a new audience of children, teachers and librarians. Spring 2014, Academic Year 2016-2017
