"When a neighborhood is destroyed its inhabitants suffer "root shock": a traumatic stress reaction related to the destruction of one's emotional ecosystem. The ripple effects of root shock have an impact on entire communities that can last for decades." "In this book, Dr. Mindy Fullilove examines root shock through the story of urban renewal and its effect on the African American community. Between 1949 and 1973 this federal program, spearheaded by business and real estate interests, destroyed 1,600 African American neighborhoods in cities across the United States. The anger it caused led to riots that sent whites fleeing for the suburbs, stripping them of their own sense of place. And it left big gashes in the centers of U.S. cities that are only now slowly being repaired." "Focusing on three very different urban settings - the Hill District of Pittsburgh, the Central Ward in Newark, and the small Virginia city of Roanoke - Dr. Fullilove argues that the twenty-first century will be one of displacement and of continual demolition and reconstruction. Acknowledging the damage caused by root shock is crucial to coping with its human toll and building a road to recovery."--BOOK JACKET.