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“Systemic Racism?” Damned Right!

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by

Peter Galuszka
in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Peter Galuszka

There has been much debate on this blog regarding whether there is “systemic racism” in Virginia and the rest of the country.

It’s a crucial question in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed African American who was killed on video by a white Minneapolis police officer two weeks ago. The killing sparked nationwide demonstrations, some rioting and a big rethink of race relations.

Regarding is “system racism,” my answer in a resounding “yes” although I agree there has been significant progress in race relations since the since the 1960s.

A few examples:

  • Virginia was the embarkation point for American’s first slaves.
  • Slavery was a key social, economic and political institution for several hundred years.
  • The Civil War was fought over slavery. Most battles were in Virginia.
  • The state embraced Jim Crow laws and kept them for years. These made it crimes for people of different races to go to school together, go on public transit together, sit together in restaurants, get married and so on.
  • There were plenty of lynchings in Virginia. Many went unpunished.

  • After a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1954 banned school desegregation, Virginia’s white leaders instituted their “Massive Resistance” policy of keeping schools segregated. A school system in Prince Edward County closed for years rather than integrate.
  • The rise of automobiles and superhighways let whites flee cities for suburbs while new roads destroyed African-American neighborhoods. One example of Richmond’s Jackson Ward, which had been a thriving place for the African-American middle class. Many African-Americans were pushed into substandard public housing
  • The state, according to NBC News, has more Confederate related names and memorials than any other state. There are 110 Confederate monuments and 244 symbols.
  • In 2015, Edwin Slipek, senior contributing editor at Richmond’s Style Weekly and a good friend and colleague of mine, amassed a collection of public entities in Richmond related to Confederate names. Here is his story:

“Nowhere does the recent national furor over Confederate flags, monuments and icons hit home more deeply than in Richmond.

Here, statues, schools, streets, parks and neighborhoods are among the things named to glorify the Southern leaders of the horrifically bloody war that came to an end 150 years ago.

This leads to an intriguing question: What would an endgame entail if the former Capital of the Confederacy and its suburbs erased all of the associated names of publicly-owned places and monuments? The list of possibilities might surprise you (or maybe not). Here is an incomplete inventory:

Dr. Simon Baruch
Baruch Auditorium, VCU Medical Center

Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard
Beauregard Avenue

Attorney General Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin marker designating his home

Col. Algernon Sidney Buford
Buford Road

Joseph Bryan
Joseph Bryan statue in Monroe Park
Joseph Bryan Park
Bryan Park Avenue

President Jefferson Davis
Lee-Davis High School
Jefferson Davis Highway
Davis bust in the State Capitol
Davis monument on Monument Avenue
Jefferson Davis Elementary School
Davis Avenue
Jackson-Davis Elementary School

Maj. James Dooley
Dooley Street
Dooley Wing, Richmond Public Library

Maj. Lewis Ginter
Ginter Street
Ginter Park
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
Ginter Park Elementary School
Ginter Park branch, Richmond Public Library

Gen. A.P. Hill
Hill Monument Parkway
A.P. Hill monument at Laburnum and Hermitage
Fort A.P. Hill

Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson
Jackson monument on Monument Avenue
Jackson bust in the State Capitol
Jackson statue in Capitol Square
Jackson Avenue
Stonewall Avenue
Jackson-Davis Elementary School

Gen. Joseph Johnston
Marker marking the wounding of Johnston
Johnston bust in State Capitol

Gen. Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee Bridge
Lee Monument on Monument Avenue
Lee statue in the State Capitol
Lee Street
Lee Avenue (two streets in Henrico County)
Lee Court
Lee-Davis High School
Stewart-Lee House marker
Robert E. Lee Camp marker, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Gen. James Longstreet
Longstreet Avenue

Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury
Maury House at VCU Medical Center
Maury Monument on Monument Avenue
Maury bust in the State Capitol
Maury Street
Maury Road
Maury Cemetery

Dr. Hunter H. McGuire
McGuire’s Veterans Hospital
Dr. Hunter McGuire monument in Capitol Square
The McGuire Clinic
McGuire Park Circle

Col. John S. Mosby
Mosby Court
Mosby School
Mosby Elementary School
Mosby Street

Gen. George E. Pickett
Pickett Avenue

Adm. Raphael Semmes
Semmes Avenue

Gen. William “Extra Billy” Smith
William Smith statue in Capitol Square

Vice President Alexander Stephens
Stephens bust in State Capitol
Home of Alexander Stephens marker at VCU Medical Center

Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
Stuart bust in State Capitol
Stuart Monument on Monument Avenue
Marker at site of Stuart’s death
Stuart Avenue
Stuart Drive
Stuart Elementary School

Capt. Sally Tompkins
Marker of Tompkins’ hospital

Confederate Congressman-elect John Tyler
John Tyler Memorial Highway
John Tyler Community College
Tyler Road

Gen. W. C. Wickham
W.C. Wickham statue in Monroe Park

Gen. George Winder
Winder Street

Gen. Henry Alexander Wise
Wise Street

Other:
Confederate Avenue
Rebels sports teams of Douglas Freeman High School
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Howitzers Monument at Park and Harrison streets
Oakwood Cemetery Confederate memorial
Confederate Memorial Chapel, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Home for Needy Confederate Women, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Battle of Drewry’s Bluff historical marker
Second Battle of Drewry’s Bluff historical marker
Battery Dantzler historical marker
Howlett’s Line historical marker
Proctor’s First Fight historical marker
Union Army Checked historical marker
Home of Samuel Preston Moore historical marker
Red Water Creek Engagement historical marker
Merrimac Road
Confederates sports teams of Lee-Davis High School “

So, please don’t tell me there is no ‘systemic racism.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-has-most-confederate-memorials-country-might-change-n1227756

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131 responses to ““Systemic Racism?” Damned Right!”

  1. sbostian Avatar
    sbostian

    Peter,
    It might be easier to interact with your article if you define “systemic racism”. Please use a definition that you will not change as people comment on the article. If by “systemic racism” you simply mean names of long dead Confederates attached to public places , it is hard to take your argument as one which is intellectually serious. I don’t mean this comment to demean your intellect, only to point out that given your considerable achievements and credentials, I expected a more compelling argument revealing a systemic racism that actively oppresses African Americans.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      There is no one example. It’s systemic, as in relating to a system, especially as opposed to a particular part, so by definition of the modifier, systemic, you cannot provide a singular exemplar, or if you do, it is not singular.

      Only a fool, a complete political hack, or someone who never cracked the OED, would laugh at the expression, “depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is.”

      1. sbostian Avatar
        sbostian

        I did not ask Peter for an example. I suggested that he provide a more complete description of the system to which “systemic racism” refers. If the “system” is no more than a list of public places with objectionable names, it isn’t much of a system. Given your high estimate of your own intellect, perhaps you can provide an intellectually coherent definition and description of the system and the mechanisms by which it oppresses. I have not seen such a discussion here. Perhaps, you really prefer using the trigger phrase to preempt discussion rather than to engage in it.

        1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Start in 1619, and move forward.

  2. gorhamg Avatar
    gorhamg

    Yes, define racism.

    My question is, do humans judge other humans based on past experience? Answer is yes. Every living thing will judge another living thing based on past experience. I not sure you can change that. And if it can’t be changed are we doomed to repeat this drama forever? No crime is good. Focus on something you can change. Seeing every crime that is white on black as racist while ignoring a black on black, black on white, white on white crime I suggest, that is racist.

  3. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Systemic means being by part of a network, order or system. It is deeply entrenched. I think that the sheer number and depth of Confederate names is clear evidence. It is not just one Lee statue. Sorry if you don’t accept my opinion and dismiss it. Imagine today’s Germany with lots of left over Hitler memorials or the former Soviet Union which got rid of memorials to many murderous leaders although they are coming back. That’s another post for another time

    1. sbostian Avatar
      sbostian

      I accept that your opinion is your opinion. I just don’t think that it rises to the level of serious historical or moral reasoning. It seems that you and many in this forum subscribe to a form of historical and moral presentism. Most competent historians reject both as a tool for understanding history. However, it is an intellectually inexpensive tool for feeling morally superior.

      As to your comparison of Lee to Adolph Hitler and Lenin and Stalin, I would to see your case for the moral equivalence assertion. Cancel culture is strong here. Destroying memories which are inconvenient seems a bit 1984-ish to me.

    2. idiocracy Avatar
      idiocracy

      The difference is that Germany moved on beyond Hitler and has a lot of things to be proud of that have been accomplished in the years since.

      Virginia, on the other hand…the biggest accomplishment here since the civil war appears to have been getting dirt roads paved. Maybe they’d be paved in gold had they won the “War of Northern Aggression”.

  4. Steve Haner Avatar
    Steve Haner

    I often wonder what I would have done had I been born 120 years earlier, and found myself in Texas (my birthplace) or Virginia (my mother’s home) in 1861 as a young man of military age, under the influence of my peers and the political winds of the day. I may have donned a butternut uniform. I’m not in favor of outright condemning and banishing from memory anybody who made that choice, but who then helped rebuild the South and reconcile the country. Some of those people redeemed themselves over and over after the war, and are not being recognized for their war service.

    To banish simple markers “so and so lived here or this happened here” reeks of George Orwell, Peter. But thank you for confirming that merely taking down the statues of generals and rebellion leaders will not satisfy you and your friends. It is the shallow understanding of that period which is a big part of the problem, feeding the animus on both sides. Couldn’t care less about the street names or building names. The aforementioned Maury statue is, for example, something I’d like to see stay.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      So, nurture not nature? You would have owned slaves?

      1. Steve Haner Avatar
        Steve Haner

        My ancestors did (mother’s side) My wife’s as well (also mother’s side). How about yours? I like to think I’d have been a Union man – many in Western Virginia were — but that’s wishful thinking on my part. Slavery itself goes back to pre-history, was universal really, and to me its abolition in many countries was the high point of 19th Century western civilization. Here it took a war. For generations after, the losers got away with writing their own self-serving history of that war and with continuing to oppress their former slaves.

  5. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
    Maria Paluzsay

    I logged in to comment, and then saw Mr. Janet’s comment. He voiced my thought well.

    I’d add that these are names, and most of those names are unidentifiable to a vast majority of Richmonders, Virginians, and Americans. The names carry little racism unless you go looking for it. Richmond was the Confederate Capital – do we now need to change the name?

    Regarding the use of highways and the White Flight, it is important to remember there was also a Black Flight. Those that could, left. Realtors are expecting another boom in suburban housing, post pandemic and riots. Is it racist? A certain percentage of the human race seek a to improve its circumstances. The value we put on an area is, to some extent regrettably, based on its current economic worth. Jackson Ward, through substantial public funding, is now worth something because of its gentrification, but it’s economic value on the 50s was small. Its value is rooted in its history as a Black Richmond neighborhood – part of our systemic racism?

    We have come so far. Focus on actual, positive, productive change. Toppling monuments and changing street names are poor uses of time and energy.

  6. sbostian Avatar
    sbostian

    Peter,
    It might be easier to interact with your article if you define “systemic racism”. Please use a definition that you will not change as people comment on the article. If by “systemic racism” you simply mean names of long dead Confederates attached to public places , it is hard to take your argument as one which is intellectually serious. I don’t mean this comment to demean your intellect, only to point out that given your considerable achievements and credentials, I expected a more compelling argument revealing a systemic racism that actively oppresses African Americans.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      There is no one example. It’s systemic, as in relating to a system, especially as opposed to a particular part, so by definition of the modifier, systemic, you cannot provide a singular exemplar, or if you do, it is not singular.

      Only a fool, a complete political hack, or someone who never cracked the OED, would laugh at the expression, “depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is.”

      1. sbostian Avatar
        sbostian

        I did not ask Peter for an example. I suggested that he provide a more complete description of the system to which “systemic racism” refers. If the “system” is no more than a list of public places with objectionable names, it isn’t much of a system. Given your high estimate of your own intellect, perhaps you can provide an intellectually coherent definition and description of the system and the mechanisms by which it oppresses. I have not seen such a discussion here. Perhaps, you really prefer using the trigger phrase to preempt discussion rather than to engage in it.

        1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Start in 1619, and move forward.

          1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
            Nancy_Naive

            See below.

  7. gorhamg Avatar
    gorhamg

    Yes, define racism.

    My question is, do humans judge other humans based on past experience? Answer is yes. Every living thing will judge another living thing based on past experience. I not sure you can change that. And if it can’t be changed are we doomed to repeat this drama forever? No crime is good. Focus on something you can change. Seeing every crime that is white on black as racist while ignoring a black on black, black on white, white on white crime I suggest, that is racist.

    1. gorhamg Avatar
      gorhamg

      Systemic naming places after central figures in history is not what I call racism. My definition of racism is unfairly treating one race over another, unequal bias. And if that is true then it is human nature, all living things treat others differently.

      Is that saying I condone violence? No.

      I look at the Floyd killing without looking at their skin color, it is pure violence, rage and wrong. You might as well blame global warming as you blame racism. Calling the Floyd killing racism and ignoring a white on white Kling, black on black or black on white killing is what I call racism. You are showing bias, unequal treatment based on race alone

  8. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Systemic means being by part of a network, order or system. It is deeply entrenched. I think that the sheer number and depth of Confederate names is clear evidence. It is not just one Lee statue. Sorry if you don’t accept my opinion and dismiss it. Imagine today’s Germany with lots of left over Hitler memorials or the former Soviet Union which got rid of memorials to many murderous leaders although they are coming back. That’s another post for another time

    1. sbostian Avatar
      sbostian

      I accept that your opinion is your opinion. I just don’t think that it rises to the level of serious historical or moral reasoning. It seems that you and many in this forum subscribe to a form of historical and moral presentism. Most competent historians reject both as a tool for understanding history. However, it is an intellectually inexpensive tool for feeling morally superior.

      As to your comparison of Lee to Adolph Hitler and Lenin and Stalin, I would to see your case for the moral equivalence assertion. Cancel culture is strong here. Destroying memories which are inconvenient seems a bit 1984-ish to me.

    2. idiocracy Avatar
      idiocracy

      The difference is that Germany moved on beyond Hitler and has a lot of things to be proud of that have been accomplished in the years since.

      Virginia, on the other hand…the biggest accomplishment here since the civil war appears to have been getting dirt roads paved. Maybe they’d be paved in gold had they won the “War of Northern Aggression”.

  9. Steve Haner Avatar
    Steve Haner

    I often wonder what I would have done had I been born 120 years earlier, and found myself in Texas (my birthplace) or Virginia (my mother’s home) in 1861 as a young man of military age, under the influence of my peers and the political winds of the day. I may have donned a butternut uniform. I’m not in favor of outright condemning and banishing from memory anybody who made that choice, but who then helped rebuild the South and reconcile the country. Some of those people redeemed themselves over and over after the war, and are not being recognized for their war service.

    To banish simple markers “so and so lived here or this happened here” reeks of George Orwell, Peter. But thank you for confirming that merely taking down the statues of generals and rebellion leaders will not satisfy you and your friends. It is the shallow understanding of that period which is a big part of the problem, feeding the animus on both sides. Couldn’t care less about the street names or building names. The aforementioned Maury statue is, for example, something I’d like to see stay.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      So, nurture not nature? You would have owned slaves?

      1. Steve Haner Avatar
        Steve Haner

        My ancestors did (mother’s side) My wife’s as well (also mother’s side). How about yours? I like to think I’d have been a Union man – many in Western Virginia were — but that’s wishful thinking on my part. Slavery itself goes back to pre-history, was universal really, and to me its abolition in many countries was the high point of 19th Century western civilization. Here it took a war. For generations after, the losers got away with writing their own self-serving history of that war and with continuing to oppress their former slaves.

        1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Only can go back that far through my fraternal grandmother. Her grandfather and great uncles were from Georgia, 2 owned slaves and fought for the South, the third for the Union. One deserted the South and joined the Union. Apparently, the lineage starts in Georgia in 1759 with a fella who “popped” into records. Given it was Georgia, old Ishram was probably a petty thief exiled from England. Just a guess. He drew a pension from the Revolution.

          My fraternal great grandfather was a gambler, shot in the back in Kansas City. His is a cool story.

        2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Now my wife’s family. Long line of abolitionists.

          Her great-great-great grandfather was John Milton Ellis, 10th president of Oberlin College, mayor of Oberlin OH, and the author of the first Emancipation Proclamation adopted by a government body. Something like 2 months before Lincoln’s and widely reported in Union newspapers. The college claims that it was the impetus that spurred Lincoln.

          1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
            Nancy_Naive

            Millot, not Milton. Stupid iPad.

          2. MAdams Avatar
            MAdams

            So did the first Emancipation you’re referring to extend to the Northern States or did it only apply South of Mason Dixon too?

          3. Nancy_Naive Avatar
            Nancy_Naive

            I believe it was limited to runaways in the county. There may be a copy on the college website,or the city site.

          4. MAdams Avatar
            MAdams

            It was for all slaves, but I see you didn’t catch what was I was saying about the Emancipation by FPOTUS Lincoln.

          5. Nancy_Naive Avatar
            Nancy_Naive

            It? Which it?can you be more specific? Were you asking only about he oberlin prof?

          6. Nancy_Naive Avatar
            Nancy_Naive

            What did you say of Lincoln’s?

  10. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
    Maria Paluzsay

    I logged in to comment, and then saw Mr. Janet’s comment. He voiced my thought well.

    I’d add that these are names, and most of those names are unidentifiable to a vast majority of Richmonders, Virginians, and Americans. The names carry little racism unless you go looking for it. Richmond was the Confederate Capital – do we now need to change the name?

    Regarding the use of highways and the White Flight, it is important to remember there was also a Black Flight. Those that could, left. Realtors are expecting another boom in suburban housing, post pandemic and riots. Is it racist? A certain percentage of the human race seek a to improve its circumstances. The value we put on an area is, to some extent regrettably, based on its current economic worth. Jackson Ward, through substantial public funding, is now worth something because of its gentrification, but it’s economic value on the 50s was small. Its value is rooted in its history as a Black Richmond neighborhood – part of our systemic racism?

    We have come so far. Focus on actual, positive, productive change. Toppling monuments and changing street names are poor uses of time and energy.

  11. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    And part of the system is silence on the left, including the MSM and elected officials, to speak against the failure Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to carry out the police reforms he promised in his election campaign. Why were Chauvin and Thao on the police force? Why was Chauvin a training officer?

    Silence = Death.

  12. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    And part of the system is silence on the left, including the MSM and elected officials, to speak against the failure Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to carry out the police reforms he promised in his election campaign. Why were Chauvin and Thao on the police force? Why was Chauvin a training officer?

    Silence = Death.

  13. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    The last tangible example of “systemic racism” Peter gave was the building of Interstates and expressways through black neighborhoods back in the 1950s and 1960s. C’mon, you’ve got to come up with something more recent than 50 years ago.

    As for the names…. the names are easily changed. Black-majority Richmond City Council could authorize many of those name changes any time it wished. But it didn’t. Apparently, City Council had real problems to deal with.

  14. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    The last tangible example of “systemic racism” Peter gave was the building of Interstates and expressways through black neighborhoods back in the 1950s and 1960s. C’mon, you’ve got to come up with something more recent than 50 years ago.

    As for the names…. the names are easily changed. Black-majority Richmond City Council could authorize many of those name changes any time it wished. But it didn’t. Apparently, City Council had real problems to deal with.

  15. Matt Hurt Avatar
    Matt Hurt

    Not to be flippant, but sincerely trying to wrap my insufficient brain around this complex idea. Is this an example of institutional racism? Would someone please explain why this is or is not?
    https://www.presidentsusa.net/jeffersonuva2.jpg

    1. John Harvie Avatar
      John Harvie

      Me too, Matt. Don’t know whether they lack the intellect or what.

      I wouldn’t attempt it.

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      It’s not about the man who is depicted as much as it is about who put the statue up and why.

      A good example is Mathew Fontaine Maury – a man who had significant accomplishments throughout his life and was known as “pathfinder to the seas”. There are a number of statues that have been erected by people who wanted to commend his accomplishments as astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator.

      He was also a Confederate Navy officer and a statue was erected of him to memorialize his contributions to the Confederacy.

      I would not anticipate any of the non-confederate statues to him to be taken down but the ones that glorify his role in the Confederacy might well be.

      Jefferson was a slave owner but not a hero of the Confederacy. Got it?

      There are those who support the statues of the Confederacy to come down but not the statues of significant leaders who also happened to own slaves.

      Not sure why this is not understandable for some.. It is for others.

      1. Matt Hurt Avatar
        Matt Hurt

        Thanks very much for that explanation.

  16. Matt Hurt Avatar
    Matt Hurt

    Not to be flippant, but sincerely trying to wrap my insufficient brain around this complex idea. Is this an example of institutional racism? Would someone please explain why this is or is not?
    https://www.presidentsusa.net/jeffersonuva2.jpg

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      It’s not about the man who is depicted as much as it is about who put the statue up and why.

      A good example is Mathew Fontaine Maury – a man who had significant accomplishments throughout his life and was known as “pathfinder to the seas”. There are a number of statues that have been erected by people who wanted to commend his accomplishments as astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator.

      He was also a Confederate Navy officer and a statue was erected of him to memorialize his contributions to the Confederacy.

      I would not anticipate any of the non-confederate statues to him to be taken down but the ones that glorify his role in the Confederacy might well be.

      Jefferson was a slave owner but not a hero of the Confederacy. Got it?

      There are those who support the statues of the Confederacy to come down but not the statues of significant leaders who also happened to own slaves.

      Not sure why this is not understandable for some.. It is for others.

    2. John Harvie Avatar
      John Harvie

      Me too, Matt. Don’t know whether they lack the intellect or what.

      I wouldn’t attempt it.

  17. TBill Avatar
    TBill

    Einstein once advised, when giving a lecture to students at a black university, that racism is a disease of white people. I tend to accept that premise. I would propose modifying that, to say hatred is a disease of white people, and perhaps other peoples. Whether or not that hatred is directed to other races, or to other groups of people or institutions, eg; progressives havc pretty strong hates they would like to promote as valid and ethical hates needed to move society forward, I question if hate is productive in any case.

    1. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
      Maria Paluzsay

      That is a statement based on Einstein’s situation, and a product of the times, when other races had little power. (You can’t read up on him and ignore his own prejudices). To say that racism is a white people disease is just not accurate in the this day and age. Just ask my (white) children, who have learned about local racism the hard way – through reverse racism in school. It was a rude awakening for all of us when my “crayon box colors” (props to the preschool teacher who thought of that) daughter got to middle school and the local black bullies started in. You can call racism a human disease, but it most certainly is not limited to those with less melanin in their skin. Einstein was wrong.

  18. TBill Avatar
    TBill

    Einstein once advised, when giving a lecture to students at a black university, that racism is a disease of white people. I tend to accept that premise. I would propose modifying that, to say hatred is a disease of white people, and perhaps other peoples. Whether or not that hatred is directed to other races, or to other groups of people or institutions, eg; progressives havc pretty strong hates they would like to promote as valid and ethical hates needed to move society forward, I question if hate is productive in any case.

    1. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
      Maria Paluzsay

      That is a statement based on Einstein’s situation, and a product of the times, when other races had little power. (You can’t read up on him and ignore his own prejudices). To say that racism is a white people disease is just not accurate in the this day and age. Just ask my (white) children, who have learned about local racism the hard way – through reverse racism in school. It was a rude awakening for all of us when my “crayon box colors” (props to the preschool teacher who thought of that) daughter got to middle school and the local black bullies started in. You can call racism a human disease, but it most certainly is not limited to those with less melanin in their skin. Einstein was wrong.

  19. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Jim b. I am working on a more current example but need more time.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      How about a Confederate flag on a State building?

      1. idiocracy Avatar
        idiocracy

        I’ve never seen a Confederate flag on a State building. I’ve really only ever seen them on smoke-belching pickup trucks that were obviously purchased at a “buy here, pay here” lot and look like they are ready for the crusher.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/06/22/ap00063002462_vert-4f0727e29e369f6868a7945240ef6c862166a999-s800-c85.jpg

          1. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            Never been there, never wanted to before, and certainly don’t now.

        2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Sou. Carolina, Mississippi.

          1. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            Well, if your present sucks, I suppose you have to glorify the past, right? When they say “The South will rise again” they are saying it wasn’t always the economically depressed hole that it is today.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            re: ” Well, if your present sucks, I suppose you have to glorify the past, right?”

            as a society ? good grief!

          3. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            It’s a dysfunctional approach, to be sure.

            But one which I understand.

            Just as some wonder how great things would have been if the “south would have won”…

            …I wonder how great things would have been had my parents not moved here from the North 33 years ago.

            I wish I could tell my dad in 19867…tell the company to shove it. Stay here. Don’t move,

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I’m a military brat. Born in Norfolk.. moved all over the country and ended up right back in Virginia in time for High School. Virginia was SOUTH – no question about it.

            I’m very familiar with “colored only” water fountains… and blacks not allowed in swimming pools, and white-only restaurants – different seating in theaters, etc. and the whole panoply and the thing that always stuck in my craw was how so many white folks justified it … and actually stigmatized whites who spoke out against it.

          5. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            My dad moved here (Northern VA) for a company that laid him off 7 years later, and which itself left VA 10 years after that. The kind of work he did (blue collar), he would have had a much easier time finding another job with the same or better pay back where we lived before. As it is the only job he could find came with a significant pay cut.

            Aside from that, the quality of life in Virginia was..and is..lower than where we lived before—yet everything was (and is) more expensive. I hated going to middle school here. Aside from the fact that in the late 80s Prince William County still had schools that didn’t have air conditioning… there were a lot of rowdy brats and it was all the teachers could do to keep them under control. High school was a bit better, but not without it’s own drama of one kid shooting and killing another during a party (both products of the area, sorry to say–maybe they both would have had a chance had they been raised elsewhere).

  20. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Jim b. I am working on a more current example but need more time.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      How about a Confederate flag on a State building?

      1. idiocracy Avatar
        idiocracy

        I’ve never seen a Confederate flag on a State building. I’ve really only ever seen them on smoke-belching pickup trucks that were obviously purchased at a “buy here, pay here” lot and look like they are ready for the crusher.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/06/22/ap00063002462_vert-4f0727e29e369f6868a7945240ef6c862166a999-s800-c85.jpg

          1. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            Never been there, never wanted to before, and certainly don’t now.

        2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
          Nancy_Naive

          Sou. Carolina, Mississippi.

          1. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            Well, if your present sucks, I suppose you have to glorify the past, right? When they say “The South will rise again” they are saying it wasn’t always the economically depressed hole that it is today.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            re: ” Well, if your present sucks, I suppose you have to glorify the past, right?”

            as a society ? good grief!

          3. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            It’s a dysfunctional approach, to be sure.

            But one which I understand.

            Just as some wonder how great things would have been if the “south would have won”…

            …I wonder how great things would have been had my parents not moved here from the North 33 years ago.

            I wish I could tell my dad in 19867…tell the company to shove it. Stay here. Don’t move,

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I’m a military brat. Born in Norfolk.. moved all over the country and ended up right back in Virginia in time for High School. Virginia was SOUTH – no question about it.

            I’m very familiar with “colored only” water fountains… and blacks not allowed in swimming pools, and white-only restaurants – different seating in theaters, etc. and the whole panoply and the thing that always stuck in my craw was how so many white folks justified it … and actually stigmatized whites who spoke out against it.

          5. idiocracy Avatar
            idiocracy

            My dad moved here (Northern VA) for a company that laid him off 7 years later, and which itself left VA 10 years after that. The kind of work he did (blue collar), he would have had a much easier time finding another job with the same or better pay back where we lived before. As it is the only job he could find came with a significant pay cut.

            Aside from that, the quality of life in Virginia was..and is..lower than where we lived before—yet everything was (and is) more expensive. I hated going to middle school here. Aside from the fact that in the late 80s Prince William County still had schools that didn’t have air conditioning… there were a lot of rowdy brats and it was all the teachers could do to keep them under control. High school was a bit better, but not without it’s own drama of one kid shooting and killing another during a party (both products of the area, sorry to say–maybe they both would have had a chance had they been raised elsewhere).

  21. Nancy_Naive Avatar
    Nancy_Naive

    Peter,
    Apparently, many have difficulty conceptualizing “systemic racism”. Might I offer a suggestion? Instead refer to it as “metastatic slavery”.

    Although tumors were eliminated in the North through the use of non-invasive therapies, it took a heroic surgical effort to remove the final tumor.

    Alas, they didn’t get it all, with the result that small tumors continue to develop. Like metastatic cancer, for example where a tumor excised from the bone is still identifiable as prostate tissue, whenever one of these slavery tumors, e.g., statues, flags on capitol buildings, racial gerrymandering, etc, is biopsied, it always found to be an effort to keep black Americans enslaved to the lowest ranks of the powerless and as a vast pool of cheap labor for the most demeaning occupations, i.e., slaves.

  22. Nancy_Naive Avatar
    Nancy_Naive

    Peter,
    Apparently, many have difficulty conceptualizing “systemic racism”. Might I offer a suggestion? Instead refer to it as “metastatic slavery”.

    Although tumors were eliminated in the North through the use of non-invasive therapies, it took a heroic surgical effort to remove the final tumor.

    Alas, they didn’t get it all, with the result that small tumors continue to develop. Like metastatic cancer, for example where a tumor excised from the bone is still identifiable as prostate tissue, whenever one of these slavery tumors, e.g., statues, flags on capitol buildings, racial gerrymandering, etc, is biopsied, it always found to be an effort to keep black Americans enslaved to the lowest ranks of the powerless and as a vast pool of cheap labor for the most demeaning occupations, i.e., slaves.

  23. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Nancy,
    Ecellent point about gerrymandering. The Formerly GOP GA deliberately packed African Americans into single districts to give whites a better chance in adjoining. Courts since have required redistributing in something like a dozen districts. Wish I had remembered that.

    1. Steve Haner Avatar
      Steve Haner

      So did all the Democratic plans that preceded it. Look at the 1981 plan, rejected by the feds. That was the point of multi member districts. I’m not letting you rewrite that history, Peter.

      1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
        Nancy_Naive

        Yes. It’s metastatic slavery enforced by race, not politics.

    2. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      Give me a break. Both the Senate (controlled by the Democrats in 2011) and the House (controlled by the Republicans in 2011) gerrymandered themselves. The House plan was negotiated with the black legislators in the House and was OKed by the Obama Justice Department. The plan was overturned by two Democratic-appointed judges. Facts don’t count when you are woke.

  24. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Nancy,
    Ecellent point about gerrymandering. The Formerly GOP GA deliberately packed African Americans into single districts to give whites a better chance in adjoining. Courts since have required redistributing in something like a dozen districts. Wish I had remembered that.

    1. Steve Haner Avatar
      Steve Haner

      So did all the Democratic plans that preceded it. Look at the 1981 plan, rejected by the feds. That was the point of multi member districts. I’m not letting you rewrite that history, Peter.

      1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
        Nancy_Naive

        Yes. It’s metastatic slavery enforced by race, not politics.

    2. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      Give me a break. Both the Senate (controlled by the Democrats in 2011) and the House (controlled by the Republicans in 2011) gerrymandered themselves. The House plan was negotiated with the black legislators in the House and was OKed by the Obama Justice Department. The plan was overturned by two Democratic-appointed judges. Facts don’t count when you are woke.

  25. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    “Einstein once advised, when giving a lecture to students at a black university, that racism is a disease of white people.”

    I believe that is a racist statement on its face. One that cuts both ways because if it were true (which it plainly is not), it would mean the people who are not white are not human. This idea is even worse that telling people of color they cannot succeed, and live, even survive, with the help of white people.

    See for example:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpQBWH-RwA

  26. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    “Einstein once advised, when giving a lecture to students at a black university, that racism is a disease of white people.”

    I believe that is a racist statement on its face. One that cuts both ways because if it were true (which it plainly is not), it would mean the people who are not white are not human. This idea is even worse that telling people of color they cannot succeed, and live, even survive, with the help of white people.

    See for example:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpQBWH-RwA

  27. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Steve h. Point taken. Agree both parties gerrymandered according to racial schemes. But, it was WHITES in both parties that did the plotting.

  28. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Steve h. Point taken. Agree both parties gerrymandered according to racial schemes. But, it was WHITES in both parties that did the plotting.

  29. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Lots of explanations and definitions of “systemic racism” and “institutional racism”.. it’s not really that much of a mystery.

    Yes, we’ve come a long way – but there are still vestiges of it – and unless you disbelieve black people, they’re pretty sure it still exists.

    White folks cannot “decide” that the country does not have racist policies unless you really don’t want to try to heal. When black folks say there is still racism, we dismiss it at our own peril.

  30. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Lots of explanations and definitions of “systemic racism” and “institutional racism”.. it’s not really that much of a mystery.

    Yes, we’ve come a long way – but there are still vestiges of it – and unless you disbelieve black people, they’re pretty sure it still exists.

    White folks cannot “decide” that the country does not have racist policies unless you really don’t want to try to heal. When black folks say there is still racism, we dismiss it at our own peril.

  31. SGillispie Avatar
    SGillispie

    That he apparently thinks expletives reinforce his points notwithstanding, Galuszka’s post is a shallow listing of historical anti-black actions but does not support his argument and is typically one-sided, biased, and misleading.

    It does not for example list almost 60 years of legislation directed at preferential treatment of blacks in every facet of society from employment to procuring government contracts. It does not list the extraordinary transformation of the education system to rework virtually every benchmark of achievement supposedly to create more equal treatment for blacks as well.

    It does not note that while blacks may be about 13% of our population, attention to their grievances dominates the nation, the media, our government, and our courts.

    The notion that because a black says he thinks there is discrimination there is discrimination is at best very naive.

    If there is systemic racism, it is the notion that blacks should have special privileges, benefits, and indulgences. A society can not cure “racism” with “racism”. That will embed perpetual turmoil.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      re: ” The notion that because a black says he thinks there is discrimination there is discrimination defines is at best very naive.”

      yep.. it does not matter what black folks think… this is for the whites to figure out and if whites say there is no racism.. then that’s it, the matter is settled.

      Sounds like the old south where white folks get to decide what the black man thinks.

  32. SGillispie Avatar
    SGillispie

    That he apparently thinks expletives reinforce his points notwithstanding, Galuszka’s post is a shallow listing of historical anti-black actions but does not support his argument and is typically one-sided, biased, and misleading.

    It does not for example list almost 60 years of legislation directed at preferential treatment of blacks in every facet of society from employment to procuring government contracts. It does not list the extraordinary transformation of the education system to rework virtually every benchmark of achievement supposedly to create more equal treatment for blacks as well.

    It does not note that while blacks may be about 13% of our population, attention to their grievances dominates the nation, the media, our government, and our courts.

    The notion that because a black says he thinks there is discrimination there is discrimination is at best very naive.

    If there is systemic racism, it is the notion that blacks should have special privileges, benefits, and indulgences. A society can not cure “racism” with “racism”. That will embed perpetual turmoil.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      re: ” The notion that because a black says he thinks there is discrimination there is discrimination defines is at best very naive.”

      yep.. it does not matter what black folks think… this is for the whites to figure out and if whites say there is no racism.. then that’s it, the matter is settled.

      Sounds like the old south where white folks get to decide what the black man thinks.

  33. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    SGillispie. You seem to have real trouble understanding that bc a blog post is commentary. It is opinion. It is not a news story. I am writing opinion. It is your choice to agree or disagree. I never hear from you when a right wing commenter bases an entire piece on Fox or the Federalist or the Daily Caller. LarrytheG is right that too many white old-style Southerners presume they speak for African Americans which is what you are doing here. What a sense of smug entitlement!

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      Yet another example of metastatic slavery… white guys speaking for the black guys.

  34. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    SGillispie. You seem to have real trouble understanding that bc a blog post is commentary. It is opinion. It is not a news story. I am writing opinion. It is your choice to agree or disagree. I never hear from you when a right wing commenter bases an entire piece on Fox or the Federalist or the Daily Caller. LarrytheG is right that too many white old-style Southerners presume they speak for African Americans which is what you are doing here. What a sense of smug entitlement!

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      Yet another example of metastatic slavery… white guys speaking for the black guys.

  35. SGillispie Avatar
    SGillispie

    Peter Galuszka.
    As usual, your emotions compromise your writing. I do have trouble understanding this incomprehensible statement, “You seem to have real trouble understanding that bc a blog post is commentary. ”

    Also, unlike you, I don’t condemn a piece based on the source. I evaluate it on its merits. On the merits, your post fails to make your case.

    And, regarding “smug”, your hypocritical slip is showing. A few posts ago you condemned “put downs” on this BLOG.

    But overall you are doing a great job as a trumpet for the latest far-left hate themes of the day for which facts are kryptonite.

  36. SGillispie Avatar
    SGillispie

    Peter Galuszka.
    As usual, your emotions compromise your writing. I do have trouble understanding this incomprehensible statement, “You seem to have real trouble understanding that bc a blog post is commentary. ”

    Also, unlike you, I don’t condemn a piece based on the source. I evaluate it on its merits. On the merits, your post fails to make your case.

    And, regarding “smug”, your hypocritical slip is showing. A few posts ago you condemned “put downs” on this BLOG.

    But overall you are doing a great job as a trumpet for the latest far-left hate themes of the day for which facts are kryptonite.

  37. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Well I guess all those people at protests in more than 100 cities are misinformed and misguided? Also curious that I am “far left.” Can you explain what that is supposed to mean?
    Unemotionally yours,
    Peter Galuszka

  38. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Well I guess all those people at protests in more than 100 cities are misinformed and misguided? Also curious that I am “far left.” Can you explain what that is supposed to mean?
    Unemotionally yours,
    Peter Galuszka

  39. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    And, Peter, where do you stand on Jacob Frey? The same place 98% of all American journalists stand, right behind him? Today, journalism is a cancer on society.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      TMT – what’s your “go to” media these days…the one’s you trust for the truth?

      1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
        TooManyTaxes

        I don’t trust the media. I read lots of things and try to figure out what makes sense. Short of weather and local news, I totally ignore broadcast media.

        I’ve also been working with some other folks to find a way to force Fairfax County to release the record of Officer Timberlake, the cop who used a taser on a black man. City by city, town by town, county by county, bad cops need to be identified and fired.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          For me, it’s trust but verify. For instance, where should I go to read about Northams press conference today where he announced guidelines for opening schools?

          What media would I trust to read their report about it?

  40. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    And, Peter, where do you stand on Jacob Frey? The same place 98% of all American journalists stand, right behind him? Today, journalism is a cancer on society.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      TMT – what’s your “go to” media these days…the one’s you trust for the truth?

      1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
        TooManyTaxes

        I don’t trust the media. I read lots of things and try to figure out what makes sense. Short of weather and local news, I totally ignore broadcast media.

        I’ve also been working with some other folks to find a way to force Fairfax County to release the record of Officer Timberlake, the cop who used a taser on a black man. City by city, town by town, county by county, bad cops need to be identified and fired.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          For me, it’s trust but verify. For instance, where should I go to read about Northams press conference today where he announced guidelines for opening schools?

          What media would I trust to read their report about it?

  41. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    The protestors? Well… they’re brain washed by the MSM and Antifas… and hell, half of them are “elite” rioters… whatever that means…

    yep – and they hate America too…. a bad lot all the way around!

  42. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    The protestors? Well… they’re brain washed by the MSM and Antifas… and hell, half of them are “elite” rioters… whatever that means…

    yep – and they hate America too…. a bad lot all the way around!

  43. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Tmt. I know next to nothing about Minneapolis. Other than changing planes, I have never really been there.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      I spent a week there in June one year… beautiful place. Lots of restaurants filled with pink people. Lots and lots of pink people. Comparatively speaking, I was tanned to a nice mulatto shade. I was stared at everywhere we went.

  44. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Tmt. I know next to nothing about Minneapolis. Other than changing planes, I have never really been there.

    1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      I spent a week there in June one year… beautiful place. Lots of restaurants filled with pink people. Lots and lots of pink people. Comparatively speaking, I was tanned to a nice mulatto shade. I was stared at everywhere we went.

  45. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Does this mean systemic racism? :

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/KLJEIDFKHII6VJB7NN4KNYFWNE.png&w=767

  46. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Does this mean systemic racism? :

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/KLJEIDFKHII6VJB7NN4KNYFWNE.png&w=767

  47. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Larry. How about “The Daily Stormer?”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      re: The Daily Stormers – this does not “prove” there is systemic racism – only that there are …racists….in society… it’s “only” a few, not all of society… 😉

      I think some of this is semantics. Those who deny it is “systemic” see all these events as separate – just random events..that happen to involve blacks…not policy…

      they don’t see the “system” as purposely set up to discriminate against blacks but instead more of a “rogue” cop or “rogue” department… not the express policy of the writ large business or institution.

      so maybe the difference between – de facto and de jure – in their minds if it’s individuals doing it – even if there are groups of individuals – like in a police department or multiple police departments with individuals – it’s still not the “official policy”.. it’s just bad actors…

      The funny thing is that they also say it needs to be stopped just like the protestors do – but it’s important for them to believe that it’s not “on purpose” by the agency.. it’s just some rogue folks in their ranks.

  48. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Larry. How about “The Daily Stormer?”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      re: The Daily Stormers – this does not “prove” there is systemic racism – only that there are …racists….in society… it’s “only” a few, not all of society… 😉

      I think some of this is semantics. Those who deny it is “systemic” see all these events as separate – just random events..that happen to involve blacks…not policy…

      they don’t see the “system” as purposely set up to discriminate against blacks but instead more of a “rogue” cop or “rogue” department… not the express policy of the writ large business or institution.

      so maybe the difference between – de facto and de jure – in their minds if it’s individuals doing it – even if there are groups of individuals – like in a police department or multiple police departments with individuals – it’s still not the “official policy”.. it’s just bad actors…

      The funny thing is that they also say it needs to be stopped just like the protestors do – but it’s important for them to believe that it’s not “on purpose” by the agency.. it’s just some rogue folks in their ranks.

  49. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Larry. Interesting how GOP people in Congress are dodging Trump’s totally tack tweet that the 75 year old man shoved to the pavement by Buffalo cops was a set up. Like bailing from a sinking ship!

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      The guy is pretty much what many always thought he was but that don’t matter to those who support him.. The folks who will decide the election are those in the middle… the folks are the left and right are along for the ride.

    2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      That’s because they’re getting ready to draft Romney.

    3. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      Who is in charge of Buffalo’s police? Mayor Byron Brown. Why do local officials get a pass? Reform must take place town by town, city by city, county by county. This is more than an issue. It’s real people. Silence = Death

  50. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Larry. Interesting how GOP people in Congress are dodging Trump’s totally tack tweet that the 75 year old man shoved to the pavement by Buffalo cops was a set up. Like bailing from a sinking ship!

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      The guy is pretty much what many always thought he was but that don’t matter to those who support him.. The folks who will decide the election are those in the middle… the folks are the left and right are along for the ride.

    2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
      Nancy_Naive

      That’s because they’re getting ready to draft Romney.

    3. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      Who is in charge of Buffalo’s police? Mayor Byron Brown. Why do local officials get a pass? Reform must take place town by town, city by city, county by county. This is more than an issue. It’s real people. Silence = Death

  51. douglasbrown22 Avatar
    douglasbrown22

    This inventory is amazing to read. Thank you for putting this together! I attended Jackson Davis Elementary School as a kid; it was named after Jackson T. Davis, the first superintendent of Henrico County schools and NOT Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. Thank God. The Wikipedia article about Jackson T. Davis makes him sound like a pretty alright guy, which is kind of a miracle for Richmond area schools.

  52. douglasbrown22 Avatar
    douglasbrown22

    This inventory is amazing to read. Thank you for putting this together! I attended Jackson Davis Elementary School as a kid; it was named after Jackson T. Davis, the first superintendent of Henrico County schools and NOT Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. Thank God. The Wikipedia article about Jackson T. Davis makes him sound like a pretty alright guy, which is kind of a miracle for Richmond area schools.

  53. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
    Maria Paluzsay

    Back in the Dark Ages (early 80s), when I was a Virginia girl in a New England boarding school learning US History, my Hungarian immigrant father sent me back after break armed with documents and statistics about the treatment of African Americans in the Northern states. If only I could put my hands on that now… this assumption that racism is a Southern character trait needs to go. Jim Crow may have been in the South, but the North had its equivalent in actions, if not law. This was a segregated country. We have come so far, that is something to be proud of and build on. I have to agree with SGillespie’s Voice from the Other Side, and a brave voice it is. That any race should have preferential treatment in 2020 is not making things equal, it’s racist.

  54. Maria Paluzsay Avatar
    Maria Paluzsay

    Back in the Dark Ages (early 80s), when I was a Virginia girl in a New England boarding school learning US History, my Hungarian immigrant father sent me back after break armed with documents and statistics about the treatment of African Americans in the Northern states. If only I could put my hands on that now… this assumption that racism is a Southern character trait needs to go. Jim Crow may have been in the South, but the North had its equivalent in actions, if not law. This was a segregated country. We have come so far, that is something to be proud of and build on. I have to agree with SGillespie’s Voice from the Other Side, and a brave voice it is. That any race should have preferential treatment in 2020 is not making things equal, it’s racist.

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