Ted moved to Silicon Valley from Pelican, Louisiana, in 1962. He got a job working construction and bought his house for $9,500. He lives in Belle Haven, a historically Black neighborhood in Menlo Park, not far from Facebook’s headquarters. Belle Haven has for years felt separate from the rest of Silicon Valley-physically, culturally, and politically.
These days, realtors are always sending Ted letters, calling him on the phone, knocking on his door. They say he could get nearly a million dollars for his house. But he always refuses. “If I sell my house,” he says, “where am I gonna go? Back to the white man?”
Ted says he sees his old neighbors moving out, being replaced by Asians. He says he thinks they’re from China. He hears they pay cash.
