The anti-racist town in the American South, explained

Soul City was meant to be an antiracist town in the American South.
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In the 1960s, Floyd B. McKissick, a prolific civil rights activist, embarked on an ambitious idea: What if Black Americans could build and lead their own city? A place centered on the idea of racial equality and economic power, where everyone, especially people of color and the poor, could thrive? That idea turned into Soul City, North Carolina: the Black-led, capitalist utopia that almost came to be.
At the time, the federal government was encouraging the idea of new cities. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development opened up a process to finance new towns built by private developers. McKissick took the opportunity to pitch his idea and hoped to secure federal funding to finally make his dream a reality. But to do it, he also made an unlikely ally: Republican President Richard Nixon. By 1972, Soul City was approved for funding, and McKissick broke ground on hundreds of acres of former tobacco plantation land in Warren County, North Carolina.
Designs were drafted. Land was cleared. An electrical grid and water system were constructed. Infrastructure was built, like roads, a public pool, a health clinic, and a massive industrial building called “Soul Tech One” - meant to be a manufacturing hub. But within just seven years of breaking ground, McKissick’s dream of Soul City was cut short. In the piece above, we explore what happened to this experimental town. With the help of McKissick’s son, former Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., and one of Soul City’s first residents, Jane Ball-Groom, we look at what got built, what remains today, and the forces that came together to cause its end.
Sources:
Jane Ball-Groom’s book on Soul City: www.abebooks.com/978132982182...
Devin Fergus’s research on Soul City: www.cambridge.org/core/journa...
Thomas Healy’s book on Soul City: / 53138153
Floyd B. McKissick Papers: finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/04930/
For further reading:
www.charlottemagazine.com/the...
www.npr.org/2021/04/20/989108...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc...
Note: The headline on this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: How Black Americans almost built a utopia
And if you want to read more about Warren County’s environmental justice history, here’s a link to a great piece on another reason why this place is so important: www.washingtonpost.com/climat...
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[@juiceman_3]

Putting a prison where the city was supposed to be is a racist slap in the face smh

[@spark556]

What

[@modvavet]

Absolutely. It struck me that way as well.

[@elbinalejandrofelizgonzale1742]

it was absolutely on purpose, I have no doubts

[@KNNYD]

Blaming “the system” helps no one arm chair advocate. What are you doing to change lives to reduce young single mothers, illiteracy, increase public education funding etc to reduce root factors for higher crime rates? Simpletons need a classic “bad guy” but it’s more complex than that.

[@computasaysnoo1]

That part made my jaw drop. Of all things.. that?

[@ThePiachu]

Segregationists: "People of different races should not mix!" *A black person builds a city for black people* Segregationists: "Not like that!"

[@revinhatol]

😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅

[@ebonyeyes7023]

Segregationist racists never want to see our positive progression. If we had our own, they know we'd do extremely well, and they never want us to do better than them. Most importantly, they don't want us to build an economy they can't financially benefit from.

[@bunnydimples1283]

Right on

[@marylynnnguyen2809]

8:08

[@kaymorrice8141]

😂😂😂

[@shaynaboyd225]

I'm from Soul City. I'm extremely happy to see this story being shared. I played at the pool and the tennis courts. I knew Floyd's children and they had a summer program for kids that was like a summer camp where we did activities and they taught us this history. One of my aunts worked at HealthCo and my mom served in the Soul City Fire department. Even though the vision didn't fully come to pass, it still made an impact on the community. My grandparents, other family members , and people I knew in my community were in the PCB protests. A lot of the community meetings about the PCB protests were held at my church, Coley Springs Baptist Church. It was a topic that was taught in high school and my class did a research project on it. I ended up interviewing people I knew all my life.

[@prettyqueen573]

That's so incredible! Have there been discussions to resume the project to develop soup city to its full vision?

[@binkdawg9436]

It can still be built! Ill move there

[@kaymorrice8141]

Wow!!

[@broaj1453]

Amazing history!!! Thank you for sharing. As a chemist, doctoral student, this really intrigued me to learn about the dangers of PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls.

[@michele3135]

Hey! I'm doing a research on the PCB Protest of 1982, is there any way I can contact you?

[@GarethWareth]

The fact they've built a prison work complex there is such a slap in the face. What is, in one way, kind of like modern slavery. Literally the worst thing you could have built there.

[@sergiohelgueramartinez7479]

I mean it was built by a capitalist of course they were going to end up relying on the prison industrial complex.

[@danielb.1567]

lollll

[@8is]

Literally anything useful would've been better than just nothing.

[@user-hs7ry4nx7l]

@@8is Prisons are less than useful. Prisons are a net negative and a detrimental social instution. You have plenty of empty space in your head and nobody built a prison in there yet.

[@DrSevTalksMoney]

I'm sure it was intentional. 😢

[@residentevil4life]

These kinds of situations always make me so mad since the city did not fail because of leadership's incompetence but rather because a racist stopped them from even having a chance to grow and probably patted themselves on the back by telling everyone that this failure is what happens when Black people try to thrive.

[@roster092]

I’m glad this story is being shared! Both my Grandfather and Grandmother were good friends of Floyd and helped with the project. Within the last 3-4 years my grandma has shared more stories about soul city and how the plan was botched. Every time I visit her I drive by what was supposed to be soul city and wonder what it could have been.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

It's sad that HUD under the Carter admin pulled it's support of Soul City.

[@shannonswift2233]

@@FLPhotoCatcher Funny you mention this on his birthday lol - I doubt Carter would've done it due to race or optics. Sad all around but we have come so far.

[@wonderfulworldofmarkets9033]

This video doesn't really cover it, but if you have spoken to your grandparents I'd love to know the answer: what's the difference between Soul City and Crypto Cities or China's Ghost Cities? Don't cities exist because they are economically viable? Putting a random city in a remote area won't guarantee anything. That's why so many of these projects fail without racism.

[@jonroman9572]

Like many things today. Claiming to be "anti" is the opposite. Would a White family be allowed to live there if they wanted? If not, wouldn't that violate the civil rights act, and why would they be denied...that would be...racist right.

[@craigslistreplies3485]

I hope someone picks up where the family left off. With the growing anti-Black sentiment AND the increase of remote work, I think Soul City could make a resurgence.

[@amoghavarshanripatunga]

Yes! Sure Is anyone stopping people from going and building their own utopia tho??? Why isn't anyone doing it lol

[@secularsekai8910]

Agreed. And the only other alternative I’ve seen attempted so far is Freedom, GA, which has been…controversial. Still exists, but I’ve heard some negative reviews.

[@grissee]

if I were to somehow become rich (and have superpower, to ward off any assassin), this will be one of the project that I want to invest in (after I successfully built a walkable city in my own country, Indonesia)

[@jonroman9572]

@@secularsekai8910 A few busloads of Biden's migrants should be offloaded there and in similar places. Trying to make race exclusive enclaves is racist whether you want to admit it or not.

[@arketasample6831]

I totally agree, what could we do now ??????

[@_robustus_]

In the 80’s I was young and becoming politically conscious and there would be talk of racism. You would hear Jesse Helms’ name dropped but I never knew specifically the why and how of his racist activities. Thank you.

[@IUoUIzZzZzII-df1bm]

a-k-a "senator NO"

[@emilynelson5985]

I love how we actively avoid teaching people about any attempt at Utopia that wasn’t led by Puritans or Mormons. Maybe a couple sentences to go with that illustration of the Shakers dancing weird but that’s usually about it.

[@donutchan8114]

Dont forget quakers and Mennonites. Its so tragic that just because they weren't white they weren't allowed to create a thriving community. And now I'm sad again.

[@zzzyyyxxx]

Probably because none of them worked. There's a reason that Utopia is a fictitious concept.

[@emilynelson5985]

@@zzzyyyxxx The ladies at Sabbath Day Lake might disagree.

[@sigmarizzlerking]

utopia is a terrible idea, and should not be compared to building nice and improved communities.

[@squibbelsmcjohnson]

Utopia DOESN'T EXIST. Never will

[@LarryLoveSosa69]

This seems to be a recurring theme with segregation. I'm south-african and during the 50s something similar happened with rise of Sophia Town (which was eventually destroyed and sabotaged by the government)

[@cfoster6804]

It's pretty much a worldwide occurrence with black people.

[@MugroofAmeen]

@@cfoster6804 *Worldwide occurence with a racist country

[@freethinkinmelanin6795]

Yea wypipo thought South Africa belonged to them. The entitlement really disturbs me.

[@ZachBobBob]

Reminds me of what happened in Tulsa too, when 'black wall street' was raided and destroyed by white supremacists.

[@FaceFcuk]

​@freethinkinmelanin6795 now blacks are killing white farmers in racist attacks every week in South Africa, the racism never stopped it just switched sides FACTS.

[@Magmafire]

Imagine if the state supported the city. Today it could have been one of the most prosperous cities in America.

[@marcelreagan2046]

lol, for sure 😆

[@dog4317]

imagine if more people knew about it

[@G.A.C_Preserve]

Nah

[@erikaerika7788]

😂😂😂😂😂sure

[@RealBNews]

​@@marcelreagan2046why so negative?

[@UNOUMI1]

(Please stop replying)* Living in North Carolina, my whole life and being well rounded with many historical events I’ve never heard of this It’s an absolute tragedy that this does not have light shown on it, or is not taught in the grade school

[@froglifes6829]

why would this useless information be taught in grade school?

[@danilapolesciuk4316]

Why the hell would this be taught in schools?

[@UNOUMI1]

@@froglifes6829 because in the south, civil rights and African-American history are heavily taught. This is a modern historical event that doesn’t have light shine on it compared to the colonial upbringing like Roanoke Island.

[@UNOUMI1]

@@danilapolesciuk4316 because in the south, civil rights and African-American history are heavily taught. This is a modern historical event that doesn’t have light shine on it compared to the colonial upbringing like Roanoke Island.

[@froglifes6829]

@@UNOUMI1 Its a modern irrelevant historical event that has no impact on the world. It is useless teaching such nonsense.

[@jamesrose2312]

Classic. Systemic. Racism. This is what needs to be taught in the schools in republican states so we can all understand the impacts of powerful individuals with insidious motives and beliefs.

[@blazer9547]

Oh I wish slavery was banned when America was founded. So we couldn't have to deal with these.

[@mstreemoon8117]

I live in north carolina and have NEVER heard about this ... and I am also a lover of real history..🤯how I have not learned of this before!?

[@birdrocket]

@@blazer9547Slavery has been “banned” for most of the time since the founding of the US, and we still have the lasting effects of systemic racism. Slavery absolutely should have been abolished when the country was founded (and never should have happened in the first place), but the impacts of slavery wouldn’t have just gone away on their own, we need to confront it head on and make concrete actions to reverse its course.

[@PMickeyDee]

​@@mstreemoon8117it's a product of the educations we received in the south. The daughters of the confederacy & many other conservative groups have had massive influence on what history is taught and how. I'm not from North Carolina, I'm from Louisiana and a massive history nerd and I'm constantly being confronted with the difficult history "polite" society has deemed unnecessary or uncouth to teach & discuss. One surprisingly good resource I've found is LPB (the Louisiana branch of PBS) idk if north Carolinas PBS is anything like ours but LPB has troves of documentaries on Louisiana history, some of it is the fluffy polite history, but they also have the hard stuff too.

[@mstreemoon8117]

@@PMickeyDee yes nc pbs is the best source of documentaries for real history. And you're exactly right on all points! But nothing surprises me w how far this state (let alone country) will go to bury the truth. It's disgusting and downright sad that we're still going through this.

[@irkhanbasc]

I think that there's still hope for this place. For example, you could possibly promote it as a retirement destination, or as a quiet, peaceful, and affordable work-from-home location.

[@arketasample6831]

Yes or promote it as a new development of homes and new entrepreneurs….. let’s talk people …

[@NIN10DOXD]

I grew up down the road from Soul City on the edge of Vance and Warren Counties just north of Henderson and I jumped out of my skin when I saw this video in my feed. Thank you so much for covering this.

[@warewellnessco]

Do you know the Jones, Perez, bullocks or Mosleys? then that’s my family 😁 my mom wen to warren high. I told her about this video and she jumped out her skin and said she remembered in school they were working on that.

[@shaynaboyd225]

The Jones are my family! I'm sharing this with my mom and I know she'll be shocked to see this video. @@warewellnessco

[@michele3135]

@@warewellnessco Hi! I'm doing a research on the 1982 PCB Protest, is there any way I can contact you? These namese are coming up on my research and would be amazing to interview you!

[@Francesco6961]

Great story. Thank you. Jesse Helms was an embarrassment to NC, to humanity, and to decency.

[@naryrunestone9388]

It’s so interesting to watch documentaries like this. They’re incredibly informative and they hit so close to home. I do some video editing on the side and I can say that I thoroughly enjoy and love watching the way you animate and compile things. Even further, the fact this video touches on a racism, urban planning, government funding, and the history and politics of the 1980s and 1990s is just…. amazing. Phenomenal work.

[@Michaeltires]

Man. Just hearing this and all the progress we try to make as a people. It’s amazing how racism can just stop it so easily in it’s tracks. Sadly, might makes right

[@snookycooky]

Luckily, the south is the least racist part of the US. If you feel any differently, you've been lied to.

[@atonmartell2813]

That's why I thank God for the internet because you don't have to listen to the news and newspaper lying to you, but sadly Soul City was the victim of those lies

[@kingace6186]

The Missing Chapter has slowly become my favorite Vox series.

[@krishna_2019]

Bigotry, ignorance, and hate will always hinder progress. It's a shame what happened to Soul City.

[@patrickallen1760]

I remember driving past this place when I was a kid. My aunt was explaining to me what it was. It was down the road from where my family is from, a town called Wise NC

[@flame-sky7148]

As time goes on, more is revealed. These people were playing politics and getting things done. Bobby's killed and Watergate occurs and those obstacles were too much along with Helms. They made the proper attempt so thank you founders of Soul City. And thanks Vox

[@sparkofgenius3372]

THANK YOU! GREAT JOB!! I will Donate to your channel. We as BLACK AMERICANS must move to SOUL CITY. Let's FIGHT RACISM, with UNITY.

[@arketasample6831]

I totally agree…

[@DPowered2]

video just got posted why are there so many racist already in the comments. Do you guys just actively follow vox waiting for videos like this.

[@russkof619elite3]

Yes 😂

[@philgray4205]

Seems to be bots mostly. Then again, reading comments during the Women's World Cup proved that there are are plenty of mouth-breathers on this platform.

[@DPowered2]

@@philgray4205 its wired following something just to not watch the video and post racist crap. You can tell because so many just hook onto the world Black and Utopia

[@african8855]

I think they are just terminaly online and have a lot of frustration and hate. I try to show compasion to them and then stay away from their negativity.

[@blazer9547]

​@@african8855most hate comments I've seen in social media are from black people. Ive just been called a cave beast a while ago.

[@justinscales161]

My grandfather, Otis Thorpe, also worked with Richard Nixon on public policy for minorities. He stayed in Atlanta but knew and worked with all the same people as this man. He, coincidentally, also passed in 1991. I wonder of the connections he made in his lifetime. Thank you for sharing this.

[@v.ra.]

This series is very appreciated. Capitalism will never help the underdog. No matter how much one tries to play the game. It's a system utterly dependant on the existence of an underclass. Stay strong, stay together, stay against your oppressor. Greetings from Central Europe.

[@AgoristsRising]

Soul City could and should never be considered a capitalist town when it sought political funding 4:45 to get it built. Real capitalism is the free market, and government intervention is antithetical to free market principles. 🍎

[@loriannrichardson7644]

My family owns land in N.C. and we've been considering doing something like this again. My ancestors did it years ago, but the young people left and the older people are almost all gone.

[@TheTrainmobile]

It's like a microcosm of all of the lessons learned in civil rights activism over the past 150 years.

[@brandy3573]

I have lived in North Carolina for 39 of my 40 years and have never heard of Soul City! Thank you for this informative piece on suppressed history. I hope this inspires someone to try again, even though this city never became its true vision, maybe it could be re-envisioned and brought to fruition today...

[@sergio.ssantos]

Wow, just watched it without looking into the comments and I was caught off guard with the Soultech plot-twist. Devastating and so disrespectful to their original intention. Great piece, never knew about it.

[@Danielle_1234]

This video has a bunch of interesting topics intertwined. I'm particularly fascinated with what makes a "magnet" when it comes to towns, which is required to build a successful town: The SF/Bay Area is a thriving metropolis today because of one key factor: Stanford. The university created programs to give funding to entrepreneurs to start businesses there, which started Silicon Valley. Before that there wasn't much there, mostly crops, orange groves and what not. Another magnet is retirement towns. In the US most manufactured towns that have succeeded are retirement towns. They have weather great for arthritis, social events, and most of all cheap housing and cheap land. Another magnet is company towns. Companies will buy cheap rural land, build a factory, build housing lots, and sell that property for a markup. By making a town they somewhat force employees to go there and buy property there from the company, making the business a lot of money. After 20-30 years once all of the profits dry up, they abandon the factor and abandon the town. This isn't great but it is a type of magnet. Furthermore, no company was going to come to Soul City when they could instead create a company town on the cheap. Another magnet is resort towns. Aspin, CO or Miami, FL. Anywhere with good nature activities and decent weather for those activities can become a resort town. The easiest kind of magnets, retirement towns and resort towns, is in both situations it would be white people moving there with black people working as nurses, retail, or black people selling skis or surf boards of what have you. It doesn't meet the vision of the original plan having black people servicing white people. The only option I know of is a university town, but the guy who envisioned this town was the first black person to graduate at the university he went to. Black people back then didn't go to college, so it wasn't an magnet then. Furthermore, to be a successful magnet it has to be an Ivy school or something close to it, which has a high bar. Even today it's not very black. And then there was racism on top of it. Salt on a wound. It's really sad to hear about.

[@truettadevil]

Thanks for this insight. The mostly Black town I live in just built a bunch of warehouses. I was thinking of what company could come to town and hire locally so the dying town could thrive and people could walk to work. I haven't been able to think of any so far...

[@nailahdawkins]

Black have *been*, going to universities. How do you think HBCU's got started? HBCU = historically Black universities and colleges. Soul City 🏙️🌆 can definitely be revived. It does need community, private-public partnerships, and a solid series of plans however.

[@Bobbytheman98]

Yah when they talk about “Life ain’t fair” or “if you wanna be rich, get rich.” All that American bs. My family’s land was taken and replaced with million dollar homes over time in Texas. Grandfather was trying to get it back and it never progressed. All this was planned. Class and race.

[@Missy-Missy1111]

Sady, NC still has some representatives like Helms in it's State legislature. The Republicans in Raleigh gerrymandered NC so that it's no longer a "Purple" state. It's a " Red" state now. For at least the next decade, NC will be controlled by mostly middle-aged & old white men. For me I feel there are very few representatives in Raleigh who look out for my interests.

[@G33KST4R]

Soul Tech One becoming a poison work complex is so disheartening. God that's such a depressing outcome.

[@dennistmennace]

I appreciate this video. I’ve never heard of this. Soul City should be in history books just like Black Wall Street.

[@danielb.1567]

lolllllllll

[@larrythehedgehog]

Black wall street isn't in any history books. For a *certain* reason.

[@CortexNewsService]

​@@larrythehedgehogcan't imagine why. (And I am being sarcastic)

[@waynesworld227]

Lmao what a joke

[@armadachamp]

I grew up in eastern NC and didn't know about this or the Wilmington insurrection to overthrow the Black city government until Vox made videos about it. Great job of teaching our history, NC schools.

[@thebestcentaur]

Amazing. This was supposed to become kind of like what places like PG County and Uniondale became. This is the history I like to see, but others, for one reason or another, would prefer go unnoticed

[@AWS-Certified]

Are you talking about Uniondale,Long Island

[@thebestcentaur]

@@AWS-Certified yeah...at least until recently, going off some online articles🤷🏾‍♂️

[@vincem2759]

Please stop with this PG county myth. PG county is beyond a mess, propped up by those who have government jobs.

[@thebestcentaur]

@@vincem2759 and you know this how? Do you have family that lives there? I do. Successful attorney cousin with her architect bf, surrounded by people of color who have done just as well. There are SOME parts that are indeed terrible, such as the schools, but if there is lived and observable truth, calling something someone else has seen and verified a myth feels pretty disingenuous at best

[@vincem2759]

@@thebestcentaur Been here over 10 years. I know. North PG county has been in perpetual construction for years. Let's not forget about the MILE long pot hole the governor had to address on BW parkway. My worst mistake wa smoving back. Trust me i'm ready to leave.

[@jaw8080]

Wow, I grew up about twenty minutes from here. Played basketball in Soul City occasionally. Completely unaware of the history. Thank you.

[@MarkCerbo]

This place could still be one of the future cities since migration has been at an all-time high. It just needs the right timing for support other than the US government. There will be interested parties out there who would revive it.

[@latyshal.2286]

I never knew about Soul City. Thank you for sharing this hidden history.

[@tonys.1946]

whoever edited this needs to pull down the music. I'm struggling to hear the voices.

[@nicocorbo4153]

amazing video. as someone who is interested in the planning profession, I heard of soul city before but this is the most comprehensive video on the town i've seen thusfar. great work!!

[@larsbotany]

You went to Tennessee State University?

[@nicocorbo4153]

no, why?@@larsbotany

[@larsbotany]

@@nicocorbo4153oh ok

[@ConradNeill]

Have you heard of Habitat 67?

[@Pou1gie1]

The takeaway from this is that Blk ppl need to have privately funded projects that are funded primarily by like-minded Blk ppl. I have heard this happen many times all the same way. If you are government funded, they have direct access to cutting off your projects. Blk tax payers are forced to pay for projects assisting other groups of ppl (exp. 4 billion annually going to Israel, etc.), but their tax dollars are never allowed to go to them.

[@HebaruSan]

It would have to be easier to get some big businesses interested nowadays. A company could site a new campus there to show their commitment to certain values. But they'd probably transfer a lot of existing staff there rather than hiring locally, which raises the question of what would actually be different long-term. What would actually stop all the standard problems of de facto segregation from coming back?

[@bw2020]

I looked this up. The town failed because it’s in the middle of nowhere. Usually utopian cities of the future don’t just pop up way out in the sticks…they are usually near ports for a reason.

[@danielzhang1916]

yeah it's an hour away from Raleigh, I doubt it would have been very successful even with funding

[@TeetheSingingBee]

My mentor is the daughter of Floyd McKissick - Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton (aka Dr. Mac) was the most impactful professor I had at NC Central University. She still lives in Soul City too.

[@spartadc]

Hey, as a longtime viewer of Vox: Missing Chapter, I think you guys should do a piece on the Farhud

[@JoeGatz1]

I actually have a problem with the use of the term 'utopia' and it's something that I have always taken issue with when it comes to historical events involving Black Americans. Black Americans are people. People are not infallible. Saying that a utopia would have been created if not for the intervention of the federal government or White supremacists, assumes that Black Americans have some incredible insight into human behavior that no other racial group possess. This is a theme that Vox does a lot with people of color, whether it's this video or assuming that prior to European contact indigenous people lived in complete harmony. I appreciate the video, but Vox puts people of color onto a weird pedestal sometimes.

[@ramr7051]

Yeah I've seen this in the past as well. Nobody knows how things would've turned out in a more favourable scenario; utopias are just that, unattainable.

[@SykoFox]

​@@ramr7051yeah when they revealed that he was a Black capitalist that kinda gave the game away. He still wanted people to be exploited.

[@adorablegodzilla5628]

The whole video is weirdly biased. "Just because Nixon did something good, doesn't mean he wasn't an evil, evil Republican. He wanted votes." Huh, just like all politicians?

[@user-hs7ry4nx7l]

Utopia is a goal, not a destination.

[@TheZchristina97]

Agree with you 1000%. It's surprisingly common among white liberals. They seem to think that making Black people or other POC appear "superhuman" is doing us a favor, but it's actually harmful.

[@aliancemd]

Built from zero and still very car-centric - nowhere a single inch for people to walk

[@danielzhang1916]

and it's 1 hour away from Raleigh, and anything else to do

[@tenacious1]

Thank you for this story. I will donate. This was both tragic and inspiring. Great job 👍🏾

[@floydb.mckissickiii575]

Thank you for this episode!

[@somerandomfella]

If I were African American, I would try to repopulate and revive Detroit. It's abandoned but has the basic infrastructure needed to become something great.

[@airtale8725]

But it also has bad urban planning that made it abandoned.

[@JK-gu3tl]

If its not market driven, it was doomed to fail.

[@anita.b]

Where's the market drive for the US Military :) They sure to be spending A LOT

[@JK-gu3tl]

@anita.b there isn't, hence the $$$waste. I always said military is socialist.

[@theotherdai1556]

Ranjani, thank you for excavating and producing this buried piece of history. You seem to really care about the stories you select, you are appreciated.

[@blueberryhill6948]

This was an amazing piece. Thank you

[@sundalongpatpat]

Government: Make it enough *makes it enough Government: Hold up

[@tomsko863]

12:30 - "When would you hear of a senator fighting to stop the flow of funds into their states or districts" This guy must have been asleep or the last 15 years. Conservative lawmakers do this ALL the time now: 1) When the ACA started, the Federal Government covered 90% if states would pick up the 10%. Many Red states said no. 2) COVID-19 funds for testing, schools, unemployment, hospitals, housing, etc... 3) The "Inflation Reduction Act" and the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act": New investment to all states, 60% of which has gone to red states (so far) which Republicans fiercely fought against. I know I'm missing many more, but these are the most obvious, most blatant, and most documented examples.

[@danielzhang1916]

and Republican lawmakers tried to take credit for #3 after voting against it, they have no shame at all

[@johnchessant3012]

the symbolism of a prison complex being built there ... jeez

[@lupen0076]

There is also a town in South Africa which is called Orania where only white Afrikaners live. The population has grow fast and it's self sufficient.

[@iloveTrump45]

I bet there is no crime there

[@lupen0076]

@@iloveTrump45crime is almost non existent while the rest of South Africa is surrounded by anarchy.

[@joeljoshyjoeljoshy7823]

It is beacuse you need to apply to live there as well as being white you have to have a clean criminal record and quite a lot of money in the first place. And we know that poverty correlates with crime soooo.@@iloveTrump45

[@joeljoshyjoeljoshy7823]

@@lupen0076 It is beacuse you need to apply to live there as well as being white you have to have a clean criminal record and quite a lot of money in the first place. And we know that poverty correlates with crime soooo. Obviously a segregated area for richer people will have less crime kind of a no-brainer.

[@lupen0076]

@@joeljoshyjoeljoshy7823 Crime is Not automatically correlatet to poverty. India has a high poverty rate but less crime than south africa.

[@Bacopa68]

Gotta point out that The Woodlands on that map is now a major player in the Houston SMA. But the idea that first time home buyers of all races could move there is long gone. It's been a wealthy people's socialist republic for decades now. Rich folks love them some socialism.

[@fullchicken4492]

Richard Nixon continuous to surprise me in positive ways.

[@BenSasser]

Great Video, Well written, researched, and balanced. As an on-again/off-again Vox viewer, these are the videos that keep me invested and coming back for more!

[@mickyD762]

Finally a good Vox video. It’s been a while.

[@SilverSlayer23]

They should've started by building a proper city rather than single family housing divisions. With an emphasis on the local economy. Denser buildings are cheaper to integrate infrastructure for and that infrastructure per mile would serve significantly more members of the community. Systemic racism aside, it was planned to fail by allowing itself not to see the individual value of each resident coming into town and providing space for them build new businesses, whom would drive more employment and residents, and allow the town to at least be more self sufficient. It's a black incorporated town. It was bounded to be sabotaged and targeted by domestic terrorist.

[@Lesetna]

Wow I’m from Warren county! Nice to see this video!

[@K55365]

So this was the inspiration for Key & Peele's 'Negrotown' skit 😂

[@patrickquine3945]

Super interesting ! This is the kind of stuff I love Vox for. A sad story.. but inspiring at the same time. I really appreciated that one woman who stayed

[@abraxasjinx5207]

I have lived in NC most of my life, about an hour from here, and I've never heard of this before. Jesse Helms was such a detriment to our state, and his legacy goes on today.

[@Yeppo_]

Man this is interesting. Keep it up Vox!

[@nguyenthanh-xo9ru]

Fatherless...Burnn..Loott..Murderr....

[@Nate-.-]

​@@nguyenthanh-xo9ruwhat mad libs edition did you get?

[@Yeppo_]

@@nguyenthanh-xo9ru Excuse me what?

[@jgagnier]

I don’t want to wholesale defend Nixon, but to dismiss liberal things he did as pure political calculus rather than so he can remain a villain rather than embrace his many-shades-of-grey policies seems disingenuous. Also, I’d love to understand how environmental policies became a left-wing issue. In the abstract, wouldn’t preserving "the natural order of things and our way of life", conserving the status quo, be more akin to conservatism than liberalism?

[@caseclosed9342]

6:28 I would point out that yes, Nixon started the war on drugs…BUT when he started it 2/3 of federal funding went to rehabilitation programs. It wasn’t until later administrations that shifted more funding to enforcement. In other words, he wanted to try to help people with addiction, not lock them up.

[@drewski-qu3co]

Of course Nixon was in favour of Soul City...to him it would look like black people self segregating themselves.

[@asaseya1819]

Black people are already segregated.

[@senormoll]

3:14 Hey someone help that nice lady digitize her photo collection

[@xxlee1019]

THANK YOU

[@CorbinEmslie]

"We don’t think you fight fire with fire best; we think you fight fire with water best. We’re going to fight racism not with racism, but we’re going to fight with solidarity. We say we’re not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we’re going to fight it with socialism." - Fred Hampton If it's not anti-capitalist, it's not anti-racist.

[@DemsW]

Some random white dude correcting a black civil rights activist is the whitest thing I've seen.

[@dickgoblin]

Yes the socalist government of Tennessee will definitely treat black people like equal commardes.... being a socalist allows you to just have an easy answer to every question. Housing? Socalism. Jobs? Socalism. Racism? Socalism. The world is not so simple...

[@bguy1979]

Amazing work!!

[@chrislavie3325]

@vox is it possible to invest in that city? What a wonderful project it would have been. Is it too late to reboot it ?

[@JMD2023Capstone]

Ben Chavis and the Warren County PCB Protests are worthy of their own video!

[@rochelle1192]

I find vox video essays too shorts. Other than special series, I’d like more in depth content from time to time that does deeper interviews and follows a story. Basically for the scale of this company I find they have too few documentaries

[@INeedABlessingNow]

Although Soul City never reached its potential, I am glad that Mr McKissick had the vision and did all he could to bring the town to fruition. His plan may someday be the model for another community.

[@akaemmaclaire]

keep the quality content coming 🫶🏻

[@danielb.1567]

ROFL at "quality"

[@pinkace]

It takes a long time to build a city. You can’t force and economy out of a patch of farmland overnight.

[@lelelum4103]

It’s so many of these stories.. but they don’t teach this stuff

[@bw2020]

Why would this be taught?

[@larrythehedgehog]

​@@bw2020you are a bot.

[@lelelum4103]

@@bw2020 why wouldn’t it?? Have u taken a history class? We learn about other cities that were created and their history from many cultures this one should be included

[@bw2020]

@@lelelum4103 actually you’re right, it should be taught as a case study of how you can’t take public money and build a thriving city in the middle of nowhere. There needs to be an important resource, a nearby major city, a port, and people who want to build something gradually by their own will under free market forces.

[@MoeDeNiro]

Excellent content! I learned some amazing history watching this. Thank you so much.

[@nerd26373]

Black Americans have experienced a long period of ruthless discrimination throughout history. It's no surprise they all want to make such huge changes in society.

[@nguyenthanh-xo9ru]

Burnn..Loott..Murderr//

[@DPowered2]

@@nguyenthanh-xo9rui agree after so many black owned neighborhoods and areas were destroyed because white people didn't want them to prosper it made sense black people would keep trying despite how many times their lives were uprooted for no reason other than skin color

[@NamelessONEMail]

By being number 1 in crime? By a giant margin? Sure... I'm sure THAT will make people less racist. /s

[@danielb.1567]

how much of it was deserved though?

[@Moor_Fish]

@@nguyenthanh-xo9ruyou should thank Black Americans instead of running with false narratives. Based on your name, you especially should thank Black Americans.

[@cqholt]

Cover the environmental racism that is occurring in Atlanta over Cop City project.

[@froglifes6829]

we wuz utopiaz n sheet

[@c0ttage]

stop cop city

[@c0ttage]

defend weelaunee forest

[@ReggieWinston]

Thank you for shedding light on this

[@airtale8725]

TLDR for any corporation: here is an industrial town ripe for the taking

[@nana-santos]

very interesting episode.

[@sherriethames6503]

Jesse Helms is responsible for a great deal of rot in NC. It's difficult to believe one man could do so much damage but then look at trump. It's truly a shame that this project didn't succeed. Can you imagine the difference in the story if it had?

[@shaneintegra]

Should revamp the city n continue where it left off. Its the perfect place to start a new city

[@craigslistreplies3485]

I haven't seen too many African American reporters on Vox. You would think this would be the one story where an African American reporter would have been utilized😒

[@kuruption1983]

Loved this video! such an inspiring story... ❤

[@BigBrotherMars]

Anyone else so early they saw the original vid title before they changed it?

[@smplfi9859]

what was it?

[@TheBedevilers]

​@@smplfi9859something like "how black Americans almost built a utopia"

[@nederlanditisnederlanditis5529]

At 1:00 - isn't that the church in The Devil all the Time with Tom Holland?

[@johngorman6641]

Why was the planned city so low density, car oriented, and parking first?

[@bakersbread104]

who builds high density housing in the middle of nowhere? and who would move to such a place? Make use of the space. Towns come first then comes cities.

[@johngorman6641]

@@bakersbread104 naturally occurring towns and rural communities are still dense bc people still benefit from easy access to goods and agglomeration - low density housing communities is a creation of exurban and suburban development.

[@johngorman6641]

@@bakersbread104 Warrenton NC is a rural town but its downtown is incredibly walkable and dense

[@bakersbread104]

@@johngorman6641 Well then the reason is probably to attract people to the town. The homes seem more attractive than in more naturally developed towns like your example, and given that's its brand new and artificially placed it needed the extra pull to get enough of a population to sustain itself.

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

What I always wonder about the Soul City Project is why they decided to build a city from scratch rather than expanding and improve an existing black founded town or village in North Carolina, as that might would have stop Jesse Helms in his delay tactics and if it was near an HBCU then it could as that would serve as employer base and educating younger people.

[@ydid687]

and i just learnt about Gary Indiana

[@CJ-xg6ii]

Great documentary. Thank you♥️👊🏾

[@jeremiasrobinson]

Please do a Hidden Chapter episode on the hidden history of the San Luis Valley.