College Park is again looking at the damage done to the historically Black community of Lakeland in the 1970s.

The city is paying Columbia University $150,000 for a comprehensive historical record of the community and its destruction.

The one-square-mile area around Lake Artemesia was a thriving Black community until an “urban renewal” program led by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development began systematically tearing down more than 100 houses in 1968.

At the time, residents were told the process would take about five years and that the local high school would be converted into a community center and new single-family homes. None of the promises were kept.

In recent years, the city has commemorated Lakeland with a mural and formed a Restorative Justice Commission to work with former residents.

The research will be done in conjunction with the African American Redress Network at Columbia.

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