04/21/2026
Vanessa Sparks recounts the devastating experience of losing her home as collateral damage in Cincinnati's Project 2025 urban renewal gentrification efforts.
Uprooted: A Fight for Home and Community
For over 25 years, my family and I built a life on West McMicken, in the Mohawk Area of Over the Rhine. Things weren't perfect, but we were a part of the community's fabric. My children grew up there, attending daycare and head start, school at Vine, Rothenberg & Heberle. We faced challenges, but our social circles and neighbors were a constant source of support.
Everything changed on April 22nd, 2015. My granddaughter was just two days old, and was due to come home on that day, when my world turned upside down. A call from a neighbor alerted me that city officials were evicting us, claiming the house was vacant. This was a lie. We had utilities and mail service.
I rushed home to witness the devastation. Our belongings were strewn across the street, disrespected like trash. Food lay on top of clothes, keepsakes from my parents vanished, and cherished memories turned to rubble. They even took our dogs.
The injustice cut deep. We had tried to communicate with the city's building department. Despite our letters and pleas, they ignored evidence of our occupancy. They partnered with the county to foreclose, disregarding our attempts to pay and the protections of the Homestead Act.
My pleas for help fell on deaf ears. The NAACP, Black United Front, Black Baptist Ministers – all those who promised to stand with the community turned away. Left alone, my family was left shattered.
This wasn't just about eviction. It felt like a targeted attack. Perhaps it was because we were Black, a voice against the neighborhood's transformation into a haven for alcohol-fueled nightlife. We stood for a different vision – a thriving community, not dependent on bars.
Years later, the wound remains raw. My family is still displaced, and the vacant house at 421West McMicken stands as a monument to this injustice. The perpetrators? They face no consequences.
But I refuse to give up. We deserve justice. We deserve our home back. We deserve recognition for the positive contributions we made to the Mohawk community, fueled by love and a desire for a better future.
Until wrongs are righted, true peace cannot exist. To make a donation hit us up on CashApp $PeoplesJustice2020! Thank you for your Love & Support!
