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Freeway Revolt

Sponsored Project

  • Annie Kane, Director
  • Elizabeth Green, Producer
  • Madison Minges, Producer
Image shows Kate Kelly, an older woman and resident of the brookland neighborhood who was a witness to the protests at the time. She is sitting being interviewed with a poster and signage from the protests blurred but still visible behind her. They say; "Mr. Mayor the honeymoon is over...stop the freeways!" and "White men's roads through black men's homes!"

About the Project

The Freeway Revolt is a short documentary exploring how grassroots activism helped stop a proposed highway network in Washington, D.C., protecting neighborhoods threatened by decades of car-centered urban planning and displacement. Through archival imagery, contemporary footage, and personal testimony from movement leaders’ families, longtime residents, and historians, the film examines the legacy of urban renewal and the power of communities to challenge institutional decisions. Bridging past and present, the film asks who gets to shape a city, whose communities are sacrificed in the name of progress, and how ordinary people can transform the future of their homes.