Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

Written Testimony of Cheryl Ziegler
Director, Housing and Community Development Project
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Before the Charleston City Council

Urban Renewal Committee
Charleston, West Virginia
December 19, 2002

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ("The Lawyers' Committee") would like to thank the Chairperson and members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide you with the following written testimony on issues that are critical to the Lawyers’ Committee and our clients, one of which is Redeem, Inc., a community development corporation here in Charleston.

My name is Cheryl Ziegler. I am the Director of the Housing and Community Development Project at the Lawyers' Committee. The Lawyers' Committee is a 39 year old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization. It was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers' Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law. Among other things, the Lawyers' Committee has been actively engaged in efforts to combat racial discrimination and segregation in the public and private housing markets, the discriminatory distribution and use of federal funds by municipalities and housing authorities, and racial discrimination and disparities in lending. In particular, the Lawyers' Committee has focused on eradicating the continuing and persistent effects of this country's history of enforced racial segregation. This work is ongoing as the problems of both de facto and de jure segregation continue.

I am writing today to express the Lawyers' Committee's grave concerns regarding two initiatives that have the potential to expose predominantly African-American areas of Charleston to the forced taking of their homes and their businesses. Bill Number 6957, which concerns the Adoption of the Demolition of Substandard Structures, and Resolution 121-02, which adopts an urban renewal plan to eliminate or prevent alleged deteriorated or deteriorating conditions within the East End of Charleston, greatly expand the power of eminent domain, which historically has been a tool to destroy minority communities through relocation and the elimination of accumulated equity and wealth. Because of the history of abuses of the power of eminent domain and urban renewal both nationally and in Charleston, I am writing today to urge you not to approve either initiative as they are currently proposed.

First, Bill Number 6957 is, at a minimum, an unnecessary recodification of existing authority, or at worst, a dangerous transfer of power from the City to the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority ("CURA"). The power to take property that poses an unsafe condition is best vested with the City and not with CURA, whose purpose is to engage in redevelopment efforts, rather than to address health and safety concerns throughout the City. It has been rumored that one benefit of this plan is that it will be easier for CURA to acquire desired property than the City, because many of the legal constraints on acquisition will not apply to CURA. Such a strategy raises serious questions about the purpose and intent behind the Bill and its particular effect on the minority community in Charleston. Constitutional and statutory protections apply regardless of which entity actually acquires the property.

An even greater risk to the African-American community is posed by the proposed creation of an urban renewal plan for the East End pursuant to Resolution 121-02's. The City has cast the resolution as a tool to address "deteriorated or deteriorating" housing conditions; in reality, the resolution seems to grant CURA all the powers it would have under a traditional urban renewal plan. While the resolution does not call the East End a slum or blighted neighborhood, the effect of the resolution is the same – CURA will have the authority to take any property in the area away from private owners, against their will, and turn it over to private developers.

The Lawyers' Committee has serious concerns about the perceived targeting of a predominantly African-American community for redevelopment efforts. Since the 1960’s, African Americans have been the major victims of urban renewal efforts. Urban renewal, referred to by many as "Negro Removal," uprooted entire minority communities with little or no consideration or concern regarding the impact on the existing residents. Moreover, those plans often resulted in the discriminatory taking of property, thus stripping wealth and equity from these communities. Many believe that CURA’s renewal efforts in the Triangle District followed this pattern. It is troubling that, once again, the City and CURA are proposing to target another African-American community for its potentially devastating plans.

If the City is truly concerned about remedying allegedly "deteriorated or deteriorating" conditions in the East End, it would adopt a plan that would take the power of eminent domain – that is, the taking of property against the will of the owner – off the table and ensure that any redevelopment efforts respect and protect the sense of community in the East End and the Constitutional rights that prohibit the discriminatory targeting of African Americans and the communities in which they live.

The Lawyers' Committee thanks the Committee for the opportunity to present comments on these very serious issues. Should further explication be required on any of the discussion points above, please feel free to contact me directly at (202) 662-8331.

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