Brandi Kellam

Uprooted won a regional Emmy last night!!! 🏆 It’s my second Emmy and first as a film director.‼️ THANK YOU!!! This past year has been incredible, and I’m grateful for it all! 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 Congrats to our team at @thevcij @WHRO and @propublica.

With budget increase the commission goes into its second year with $228, 760.

📍Worth noting: In Newport News, concerns linger over a lack of transparency w/ a local task force reviewing @CNUcaptains role in displacing the Black community unofficially known as “Shoe Lane.” Though said to be in the works, no public meetings held yet, a year+ in

3️⃣ Subcommittee recommendations are expected this fall ahead of the 2026 legislative session.

🗞️ New for @virginiamercury: After operating on just $28K last year, Virginia’s commission probing Black community displacement by public universities got a big boost—$200K in new state funding. These efforts are rare. Link: virginiamercury.com/2025/06/02/sta…

Here's where things stand: 1️⃣ Four subcommittees are underway—focusing on outreach, reparations research, displacement history, and coordination with public universities. 2️⃣ Nearly all 45 public higher-ed institutions in Virginia have been contacted

Exciting news! Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining the 2025–2026 class of Spencer Fellows at Columbia University’s Journalism School as a non-residential fellow. I’m looking forward to expanding my investigative work alongside an incredible group of journalists and scholars.

"Uprooted" uncovers a long-buried history of displacement, loss, and resistance. Through archives & firsthand accounts, it traces how a Black community in Newport News was uprooted for a university. These BTS moments show the people & stories that brought this history to light.

Join me in Newport News on March 20 for a special screening of my Emmy award-winning documentary Uprooted and a discussion on community displacement! I’ll be joined by two impacted community members and a historian for a powerful discussion! @HOMEofVA @CanHeadquarters

2/As far as I'm aware, there was not an invitation to participate. Moreover, I remain deeply grateful for the impact of "Uprooted." As evident in my ongoing work, I’ve consistently contributed to discussions that seek to meaningfully address it and related subject matter.

Now, turning to another item of business: 1/During the task force’s update they were asked whether I was specifically contacted to inform their research. Since this was in a public forum, I'm sharing that I have sent a direct response to the council regarding those questions.

@tinalvick @propublica @VCIJ_Tweet @MLHarrisIII @curtisbethany3 @QuentinKidd 9/For more details on task force updates, and other questions asked, you can watch the full presentation on my YouTube channel here: youtu.be/OXmxxNVuk5M?si…

@tinalvick @propublica @VCIJ_Tweet @MLHarrisIII @curtisbethany3 8/@QuentinKidd, co-chair of the task force: We’ve never deviated from the goal of essentially telling the whole story and nothing but the whole story.

At several points yesterday,my name and reporting were mentioned in a public city council gathering. I've since addressed the council.I'll share a 24-hour update in the next thread.First, the latest from the Newport News task force examining the displacement of a Black community: