Speculative Fact #323: Ghosts of the Soul City, the Empty Shell of a Utopian Dream

     Here lies Soul City, the first ever African American community started from the ground up. Its creator, black civil rights leader Floyd McKissick, even had the backing of the Republican Nixon administration (capitalism trumped racism). 
            But the vanishing point of Utopian aspirations always disappear behind a wall of politics and discrimination. Despite funding, and 3,600 acres of land (a former plantation) they didn't have a chance. They were attacked on the left and the right. The liberals and black rights activists accused Flyd of undermining the hard work and sacrifice to racially integrate America.  Local and state conservatives (including the KKK) worked to sabotage a successful independent African American community in North Carolina. 
       The final blow came when North Carolina chose Soul City's water source as a dumping ground for toxic chemicals, including the carcinogen PCB.
           Here's the what if, and it's simple: What if Soul City had been allowed to survive? In an alternate history, what would it look like today? What effect would it have had on the rest of America? Would it have succeeded as an anomaly, or would it have become a model of success duplicated around the country? My guess is somewhere in the middle, which is also where you're more likely to find the most interesting  stories. 

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