Before it was a freeway, it was a neighborhood. 

St. John Street was once a vibrant, Black neighborhood in Flint where families built lives, businesses flourished, and culture thrived. Residents shaped a community grounded in pride, connection, and mutual care. 

In the late 1960s, the construction of I-475 uprooted families displaced thousands of residents, and erased homes and businesses. This project devastated one of Flint’s most culturally rich communities. Yet while bulldozers removed buildings, they could not erase the spirit of St. John Street. 

From Memory to Movement 

In 2024, filmmaker Justin Brown brought that spirit to life in St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood, a documentary created by Flint-based iMichigan Productions. The film premiered to a sold-out audience at the Flint Institute of Arts and has since aired on PBS stations nationwide, sparking conversations about urban renewal, displacement, and cultural resilience. 

The Community Foundation of Greater Flint supported this project with $100,000 in funding over two years and helped connect storytellers, artists, and organizers to the broader community. This work is part of our Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation commitment to narrative change— amplifying stories that reflect the full truth of our shared history. 

Told by the People Who Lived It 

The film centers the voices of former St. John Street residents, who describe a neighborhood filled with laughter, music, and joy. “St. John Street was my home,” recalls former resident James Wardlow. “It was a vibrant, self-sustaining community of Blacks and immigrants… We had movie theaters, drug stores, restaurants, stores, homes, churches, pool halls—the whole bit. It was, in fact, a village.”  

Legacy in Action 

Today, the St. John Street Historical Committee leads ongoing efforts to preserve this history. Through oral histories, educational programs, and public events, the committee is ensuring the story of St. John Street lives on. 

Plans are underway to create a commemorative park and memorial on the neighborhood’s original site. This space will honor the past while creating a place of reflection and celebration for future generations. 

As Wardlow reflects, “The St. John Street Memorial Park will be in existence. It will stand as a lasting memorial… for all the people to know that this was a thriving community and will remain in the memories of all of us.”   

To support this work, donors can give to the St. John Street Historical Fund, established to benefit programs, organizations, and initiatives that preserve and celebrate the history of the St. John Street neighborhood. 

A Call to Remember—and Rebuild 

St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood is more than a documentary. It is a testament to the power of memory and the strength of people who claim their history and future.