Category: Race and Race Relations
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The One-Sided Decision in the Reversion of Martinsville – the Start of a Trend?
by James C. Sherlock The Martinsville Bulletin, perhaps the best remaining newspaper in the state for local coverage, published a must-read article on the reversion of Martinsville from city to town and joining Henry County. Overview Martinsville’s current city logo, above, was perhaps prescient. Martinsville has been hemorrhaging population, losing more than 18% in the…
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Fredericksburg Incident Exposes Tactical Divide Between Black Activists
by James A. Bacon Back in April, Isiah Brown made a 911 call to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office concerning a domestic dispute. Brown told the dispatcher that he was going to kill his brother but also said he was unarmed. When a deputy arrived, Brown was walking down the street away from his house…
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The Case Against Structural Racism at VMI
Alternatively headlined: There Will Be Heat Death in the Universe Before You Read These Quotes in a Washington Post news article. Carmen Villani, Virginia Military Institute class of 1976, recently compiled a list of perspectives given by African-American alumni as well as actions taken by staff and professors that illuminate the military academy’s record on…
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A Jewish Community Heartbroken and Distraught
by Ellen Renee Adams and Daniel Staffenberg Richmond’s Jewish Community has watched the developments in Israel and Gaza with sadness, empathy and trepidation. The suffering of innocent Israelis and Palestinians is unacceptable. We are pained by the ways in which this conflict is being misunderstood and mischaracterized by some members of the media and our…
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Insanity Watch: Antiracism Training for Little Leaguers
From the Washington Free Beacon: Little League baseball coaches in Alexandria, Virginia, will be required to take a diversity, equity, and inclusion course this month. In an email to coaches on Thursday, Alexandria Little League board president Sherry Reilly announced the league’s partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance. All Little League coaches and board members…
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Combating the Great Awokening
by James A. Bacon Outside of the People’s Republic of Charlottesville, Northern Virginia is the most lopsidedly Democratic region of Virginia. It is also the most woke, and it is pushing the so-called “equity” agenda in schools more aggressively than anywhere else in the state. But the educrats have over-reached, pushing too far, too fast,…
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CRT and Virginia History
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Over the past few months, there has been considerable commentary on Bacon’s Rebellion regarding Critical Race Theory (CRT). Many on this blog seem to genuinely fear that this theory, or frame of reference, presents an existential threat to society, with our schools becoming centers of “Marxist indoctrination.” Before discussing the legitimacy of…
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The New Racism: Fairfax Schools Edition
I spoke from my heart to the @fcpsnews school board. Watch board chair Ricardy Anderson rage at me. Didn’t she get the memo that watching the clock is “white supremacy”? She reveals the board’s true anti-Asian animus. @ricardy4Mason, YOUR time has expired. #recallFCPS pic.twitter.com/YSbrVWtO8N — Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) May 7, 2021 In impassioned remarks at…
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Virginia’s Updated “Regulations Governing Educational Services for Gifted Students” Has Temporarily Disappeared
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes you just need to go to the documents to see what the Virginia Department of Education is up to. This example will tell you everything you want to know. Each agency proposing a new or revised regulation is required by Virginia law to post a “Proposed Agency Background Document” on…
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Race and Redemption
Bacon’s Rebellion normally does not republish campaign literature. We happily accept op-ed pieces from political candidates as long as they address substantive public policy issues, but otherwise I like to keep a healthy distance from office seekers. Today I make a partial exception. Jack White, a Northern Virginia attorney seeking the Republican nomination for Attorney…
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Virginia’s Math Path Could Erode Equity
by Andy Rotherham Years ago Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Bud Spillane had a plan to collapse early grades K-2 into an ability group approach. He went around the county explaining the approach to parents. They generally liked it because it offered customization and a more individualized experience. Then, at some point parents starting asking, “but…
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GMU Cites “Diversity” to Justify Goals for Hiring Nonwhite Staff
by Hans Bader The president of George Mason University wants to give minorities a big advantage in hiring until the faculty is as heavily minority as the school’s student body and the future, mostly non-white U.S. population. This is illegal, say lawyers and law professors. Indeed, GMU’s president, Gregory Washington, recognized that objection in an…
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Still Clueless After All These Years
by James A. Bacon In his latest hit job on the Virginia Military Institute, the Washington Post’s Ian Shapira weaves into his account responses to questions submitted to Governor Ralph Northam in writing. Northam, who served as president of the Honor Court and graduated from the Institute in 1981, comes across as totally clueless. “I…
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WaPo Reduces VMI to a Black-and-White Morality Tale
by James A. Bacon The latest blockbuster finding in The Washington Post’s jihad against the Virginia Military Institute: African-American cadets experienced racism four decades ago. According to interviews with 12 African Americans who attended VMI at the same time as Governor Ralph Northam around 1980, black cadets endured frequent racist insults. They were uncomfortable with…
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Guilty As Sin
by Scott Lingamfelter The recent and tragic death of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minnesota is the latest in a series of controversies concerning race and law enforcement in America. Floyd has now become a poignant symbol of what people say is “systemic racism” in America. So, is racism…