Enhancing Community Resilience in Hampton’s Historic Aberdeen Gardens
By Jelani Sparrow, Collaboratory Program Manager
Since joining Wetlands Watch in March of 2024, I have had the privilege of leading a collaborative initiative aimed at reducing the flood risk in Hampton's historic Aberdeen Gardens neighborhood. Our project emphasizes a community-first approach to development, prioritizing the preferences and needs of the residents while integrating both gray and green/blue infrastructure technologies.
Aberdeen Gardens holds a unique place in American history as the last remaining resettlement community founded under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1934. Despite its rich heritage, this predominantly African-American community has not experienced public infrastructure investment on par with its historical significance. Recognizing this, our project seeks not only to enhance infrastructure but also to strengthen community ties and honor the neighborhood's legacy.
In my first two visits to Aberdeen Gardens in March, the primary thing that I felt when engaging with community members was warmth.
Shelton Tucker, president of the Greater Aberdeen Community Coalition (GACC), hosted us for my first visit, and coalition members welcomed me with open arms. One community member regaled me with stories about going to Hampton University in their youth, occasionally making a subtle jab at me for attending their rival school, Howard University. Another told me about how her military service had taken her all over the world, but that there was nowhere like her hometown.
Eyvette Jones, president of the Aberdeen Gardens Historic and Civic Association, hosted us for our second visit. Her generosity allowed me to meet nearly 50 community members at once, providing additional context to what we heard in the GACC meeting. It was in this meeting that I heard stories of proud descendants who were attempting to honor the legacy of their ancestors by maintaining their historic properties with the utmost respect.
Towards the end of this meeting I was introduced to Margaret Wilson, the president of the Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum. Margaret is a powerhouse and you can tell that from how each community member addresses her. When she approached me after the meeting to tell me that my next order of business needed to be a museum tour, all I needed to know was what time she wanted me there. The tour was tremendously informative but not nearly as captivating as watching Margaret light up while conveying how influential Aberdeen Gardens was for each child that was raised there.
The openness of the Aberdeen Gardens community members has instilled in me an enhanced sense of pride in contributing to this work. However, it is precisely this openness that reveals a community acutely aware of the impacts climate change is having on their lives. This awareness did not arise from conducting soil tests, implementing stormwater best management practices, or obtaining STEM degrees—though some members indeed possess them. Rather, it came from their direct, lived experiences. I am thankful to have listened to their stories and even more motivated to help find solutions to these challenges.