Located just south of the James River, Jefferson Davis Highway Corridor is a part of U.S. Highway 1, once the primary north-south road corridor serving the eastern United States. For decades, dating to the completion of I-95, this area has been synonymous with social decay, and, more recently, with large-scale immigration from Latin America. With help from friends at the Sacred Heart Center, we set out to illuminate the challenges of living in Jeff Davis in 2017 while highlighting the rich, nuanced culture that has emerged with its changing demographics—a strong immigrant community, trailer park cities and one last attempt at revitalization.
By Thess Pfferr Every child has a favorite toy. Mine was a black plastic horse named Fury. He was the strongest and bravest horse I have seen in my life. Together we lived through adventures in hostile unexplored territories—under the kitchen table, or my mother’s office. Kids need toys, and not every kid has them. Read more about Ostriches and Books[…]
By Thess Pfferr Jesus is coming, and the crowd is growing excited. It’s just before sunset on Easter, at the end of a beautiful day. The streets outside Sacred Heart Church are crowded with dozens of people, milling about in expectation. The church is putting on a live Easter pageant, and hundreds of people are Read more about Jesus Walks on Perry Street[…]
By Thess Pfferr and Brooke Warner You might not notice them at first: The dozens of people who pick their way along paths worn in the grass and rocky ground along Jefferson Davis Highway as traffic zooms past. If you look closely, you’ll see that many are carrying bags of groceries, schoolbooks, or tools of a trade. These Read more about Foot Traffic[…]
By Brooke Warner Dominick “DJ” Dandridge (left) sat on the steps outside reading a children’s book the first time we visited the Sacred Heart Center. When we had trouble opening the door, he jumped up to help. Thanks, we said, as he followed us inside. “I work here,” he said, in a gentle raspy voice. “Sort of.” It is Read more about The Gatekeeper[…]
By Brooke Warner CONOZCA SUS DERECHOS, reads the title of the flyer. Know your rights. Know what to do if the police stop your vehicle, if they ask about your immigration status, if they put you into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if they separate you from your children. In 2017, this legal knowledge Read more about Conozca sus Derechos[…]
By Brooke Warner On most sunny days, Dorothy Wicther and her son Kyle can be found sitting in old lawn chairs outside Dorothy’s trailer. They don’t talk much. They are tired. Their eyes follow us from the moment we arrive at the trailer park and don’t leave us until our car pulls away from our makeshift gravel parking space. Everyone stares. We do Read more about Trailer Park Trials[…]
By Conor Tenbus In the heart of Jeff Davis Corridor, in a tobacco warehouse the size of a football field, a dream is taking shape. Unlike the history of Richmond, it has nothing to do with big tobacco. But it’s anything but small. Just ask John Gregory. “We’re making our own city,” said Gregory, the Read more about A Million Square Feet of Hope[…]
By Sunny Lim Maria G., who asks for her last name to be omitted, strolls inside an empty meeting room at the Sacred Heart Center and sits with her seven-year-old son, Francisco, a small, brown-haired boy with a penchant for running around. Her stern face mirrors her son’s pout. Maria starts speaking rapidly in Spanish Read more about Languages Lost and Found[…]
By Sunny Lim It was three o’clock on a weekday afternoon, but the doors of the Sacred Heart Center and its sister church across the street were padlocked shut. After I pressed the button on the security panel next to the door, our reporting team waited for someone inside to respond. Minutes later, a buzzer Read more about Sanctuary[…]