It is time for Richmond’s black people to draw a line in the sand to save our communities.

For too long, black communities have been targeted for destruction, whether it was to make way for a new highway, urban renewal or historic preservation. Each time, black residents were promised better days and better living conditions.

Time after time, the bold promises were proven to be lies, hope became despair and community-based businesses, institutions and churches would relocate or close.

Many of us have witnessed the destruction of communities such as Navy Hill, Fulton, Randolph, Jackson Ward and, most recently, Blackwell and portions of Church Hill. Although each community had its share of problems, they also made positive impacts on the lives of their residents.

In the 1940s, residents of Navy Hill were told that their close-knit neighborhood would be torn down and replaced with new, decent and affordable housing. Renters and homeowners were shuffled into Gilpin Court, which, over time, spiraled downward to become possibly the most violent neighborhood in Richmond.

Those who could afford other housing options fled to the West End, Church Hill and the outlying suburbs of Henrico and Chesterfield counties only to find that redlining and public disinvestment would soon lead to deteriorating conditions within those communities.

During the 1950s, Interstate 95 ripped through the core of Jackson Ward. In the 1960s and beyond, it was urban renewal in Randolph and Fulton and historic preservation-related gentrification in the St. John’s area in Church Hill.

In the 1970s and 1980s, urban renewal continued and gentrification spread throughout Church Hill north of Broad Street and Jackson Ward, resulting in further displacement of longtime residents.

De-concentration of poverty became the buzz term of the 1990s, as longtime residents in areas such as Blackwell were falsely promised opportunities to return to new homes that would be built in the area. Few returned. The greatest impact was the loss of black political power. Councilmanic lines were redrawn, which reduced the ability to elect black politicians in two council districts.

As for de-concentration of poverty, a recent Brooking Institute study shows that from 2000 until now, poverty has become more concentrated in high-poverty and disadvantaged inner-city and suburban neighborhoods. Brookings is a conservative Washington think tank.

It should be clear that we must make our communities better places to live and that flight and displacement don’t work. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., is an example of flight gone bad. Trayvon Martin was killed in a gated community far from the ’hood.

We must, as has every immigrant group to this country, build our communities. It has been said that our communities are “our pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow. We need to realize that.

PREDDY D. RAY

Richmond