Despite making up only 5.2% of the total population of Syracuse in the 1960, 72% of those displaced during freeway construction and urban renewal were African-American. Wholly 75% of Syracuse's black population was impacted. The 15th Ward (the area between B. and C. on the map), home to the majority of Syracuse's black population, was specifically targeted: the neighborhood was divided in half by I-81 and hundreds of homes were demolished to make way for new government buildings.

According to @onondagahisassn: "In 1950, almost 4,000 African-Americans, eight of every nine in Syracuse, lived in the 15th Ward. By 1960, the African-American population reached 11,210, a 144% rise. But black citizens comprised a little over 5% of city residents and lacked political influence.

The 15th Ward, however, was a refuge from discrimination found elsewhere. John A. Williams, an African-American author who grew up in Syracuse’s 15th Ward, wrote in 1964:

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'Social cohesion was provided by clubs, churches and the Dunbar Center, the most prominent community institution. But most of all, the ties that bound rested on the camaraderie that blossomed from knowing virtually everyone in the community.'

‘If both parents were away at work or shopping, you could bet your life that some old man whittling on a stick had their eyes on you. If you misbehaved, the folks had the report as soon as their feet hit the steps. Ours was a community, despite everything else, in which survival of the other fellow or his children meant survival for yours.'

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“Syracuse’s Urban Renewal plan called for the area between State Street and Syracuse University to be re-born as a government complex, cultural center and high-rise residential neighborhood. In the way were the overcrowded “slums” of the 15th Ward. City planners felt it would be a blessing to eliminate them. Over 27 blocks were targeted, impacting 75% of the local black population of Syracuse.”