Uprooted in a Beautiful State of Bloom

If I said the term environmental racism or heat island, would you know what they meant? Better yet, would you believe that Norfolk, our neighbor on the Eastside, is one of the top three places in the U.S. most vulnerable to coastal flooding and sea level rise? So vulnerable, in fact, that a Category 1 hurricane could displace over 7,000 Black residents from a historic housing development.

These were the urgent topics explored during Underwater and Uprooted: The History of Climate Gentrification and Black Displacement in Virginia, hosted by the Black History Museum of Virginia. Moderated by Ellis Sawyer, the event featured a screening of Underwater Projects, a short film produced by Hip Hop Caucus and narrated by Virginia native Wanda Sykes. The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr. Marvin Chiles, Dr. Faith Harris, Dr. Travis Williams, and others who brought both academic and lived expertise to the conversation.

The film documents the intersection of climate change and systemic racism, focusing on cities like Norfolk, where natural disasters caused by climate disruption disproportionately displace Black residents. Despite contributing the least to the climate crisis, Black communities bear its heaviest burdens. In Norfolk’s St. Paul’s Development, for example, families are being pushed out of their homes after generations—not by direct disaster alone, but by the redevelopment that follows in its wake.

Urban planning decisions of the past—often under the guise of “progress”—continue to echo through the present. Projects like St. Paul’s were intentionally built in areas more susceptible to extreme heat, flooding, and pollution.

These neighborhoods contain more heat-absorbing surfaces like asphalt and concrete, which store solar radiation and release it slowly, creating what is known as a “heat island.” This contributes to rising temperatures and public. This contributes to rising temperatures and public health issues, including respiratory illness, and accelerates climate-related destruction such as flooding and infrastructure collapse.

The film and panel discussion made it clear: climate justice is racial justice. As the climate changes, so too do the methods of displacement. Today, policies marketed as “climate resilience” often mirror the historic harm of redlining, urban renewal, and housing segregation—frequently excluding the very communities most impacted. Panelists spoke to the erasure of Black neighborhoods under the weight of these redevelopment schemes, and the emotional toll of losing not just homes, but entire cultural ecosystems.

One moment in the film highlighted the beauty and power of community gardens like the one in St. Paul’s, where residents grow food, plant trees, and attempt to reconnect with the land. Planting fruit-bearing trees instead of male trees (a concept known as botanical sexism) in food deserts can improve environmental outcomes and strengthen communal ties. Yet these grassroots efforts are often used as justification to reclassify land as “valuable,” increasing property values and leading to displacement through eminent domain.

Stories shared during the event revealed a deep grief—an ecological grief rooted in memory and forced migration. Homes are lost, neighborhoods are leveled, and families are scattered. But alongside that grief was a call to action. “Climate refugees aren’t just in other countries—they’re here, in the U.S.,” one panelist said. Another added, “Everything we’re doing now, Black people have already done. White folks just came and kicked that shit over.”

The most pressing reflection came from a panelist who emphasized the need for a new kind of Reconstruction, one that begins within. “We need As the conversation wrapped, it was clear that addressing climate change must go beyond emissions and infrastructure. It requires restoring power to the communities most affected, breaking down silos between sectors, and refusing to repeat the injustices of the past under the banner of environmental progress.

What can we do?

Get involved locally. Volunteer at community farms and gardens. Show up to city council and planning meetings. Educate yourself—and others—on environmental policy and climate science. The Earth’s future is a shared responsibility. And halting environmental gentrification starts right here, with us.