Daily KOS: Amazon needs land taking from elderly Black folk
The people of the Carver Road community in Haymarket, Virginia have a strong, proud history. It’s a predominantly Black, working-class neighborhood that’s home to families that’s been around for generations. In fact, many current homeowners live on land purchased by free slaves. Now that’s all under attack because a subsidiary of Amazon wants 50 acres of land to expand their data centers.
Despite the immense amount of power and resources of their opponent, the people of Carver Road won’t let the land go without a fight. The Washington Post explains:
Now, in a case of Virginia’s future ambitions colliding with its Civil War legacy, the Prince William County neighborhood of mostly elderly African American homeowners is being threatened by plans for a 38-acre computer data center that will be built nearby. The project requires the installation of 100-foot-high towers carrying 230,000-volt power lines through their land.
The State Corporation Commission authorized Dominion Virginia Power in late June to seize land through eminent domain to make room for the towers. For the roughly 30 siblings, distant cousins and some unrelated neighbors who live on about 50 acres along Carver Road, the action means losing the place where they and their ancestors began their long march into the middle class.
The town is trying to fight back, but it’s hard when your opponent has deep pockets. Prince William County voted last month to assist legal efforts to oppose the expansion—but the $30,000 earmarked is what Jeff Bezos makes in a single minute.
“Dominion is a corporate bully,” Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, said before the board voted unanimously to use budget contingency funds to donate to the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, one of several neighborhood groups protesting plans for a route through an area along Carver Road where descendants of a former slave have lived for generations.
“We are going to stand up and we are going to stick with you,” Stewart told Carver Road residents who showed up to the county government center to plead for support. “We are going to protect the Carver Road community.”
An organization, the Alliance to Save Carver Road, recently held a protest to bring more awareness to the issue. They may not have deep pockets, but they definitely have the power of the people. I hope they give Amazon and their buddies hell. Check out a video of their protest below: