There will be a public showing of the documentary trailer and a panel discussion at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at the Williamsburg Public Library on Boundary Street.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Jackie Bridgeforth-Williams has fond memories of her grandmother’s home in Williamsburg, located in a once vibrant Black community near the Historic Triangle.
“There were homes. There were businesses. There were stores. There was the first Black doctor to come to Williamsburg,” she said. “And during that time those businesses served (African-American people) because the other businesses would not.”
She’s referring to the area’s Historic Black Business District, a thriving sector for Black people in the Williamsburg community. The community also featured restaurants, a tailor shop, and a dental office, along with nearby homes and a church.
But in the 1970s, Bridgeforth-Williams says the community was affected by revitalization and urban development efforts.
“The community was revitalized but the Black businesses did not return to the Black business hub, and for the most part, the Black community no longer existed,” she said. “Of course, with urban renewal, there was always the hope to come back to a revitalized area and continue with the community, but in this particular situation, that did not happen.”
Bridgeforth-Williams and others are producing a documentary, “Displaced from the Birthplace of America,” to share the community’s story and why the people did not return. The project has been in the works for at least two years.
“This is an important story,” said Bridgeforth-Williams. “This is an American story.”
Slated for release in 2026, they are hosting watch parties for the trailer with panel discussions this weekend.
“We want to tell their stories and also talk about what it felt like to live in that community and be a part of that community and ultimately be displaced from that community,” she said. “The descendants help us to tell that history in a powerful and truthful way.”
The documentary trailer will be shown publicly and followed by a panel discussion at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, at the Williamsburg Public Library on Boundary Street. Tickets are $10.
The group will also conduct tours led by community descendants, sharing stories about the area’s history during the journey. Tours will start on Saturday at noon.
