One thing you guys need to understand: Virginia is the birthplace of slavery in the US

[CatWoman]

I was born there and could tell you some stories.

It's going to take some time, a LOT of time, for racism and racist attitudes there to die off.

[bobbieinok]

1. Many whites do not realize that the White House, other DC govt buildings were built by slaves,

Their owners were, of course, paid for their slaves' labor!

I believe a few yrs ago some black Congresspeople were able to finally get a plaque in the buildings stating that!

[bobbieinok]

2. Was it VA that had its law vs inter-racial marriage struck down by SCOTUS? In 1960s?

[SunSeeker]

3. Yup, Loving v. Virginia, 1967. nt

[William Seger]

4. Born and raised in southwest VA in the '50s

... when extreme racism wasn't just accepted, it was expected -- that was just the way things were, just the way virtually all whites were raised. I still have relatives around there and southern West Virginia, west Kentucky, and east Ohio, and yeah... we've still got a LONG way to go.

[Raster]

5. that's telling...

..."extreme racism wasn't just accepted, it was expected"

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Total agreement.

As recently as 20 years ago, you could walk into the Amherst County Administration Building and find two sets of doors for mens and ladies rooms with duct tape over the words "colored" and "white". There are still "traditional" segregated cemeteries. And Buck v. Bell originated in Amherst County, Virginia. (The USSC case that states that the government can have you sterilized against your will.)

[lostnfound]

7. "Formative years" in the 60s: age 5 in 1965 equals age 25 in 1985

Men who were guilty of “extreme racism” in the 60s had sons who had a LOT to learn. And the culture of the 1970s and 1989s was grappling with it in a variety of ways.

[Demsrule86]

8. It is going to take time for racism to die in all 50 states. I was born at

Great Lakes as my parents were in the Navy. But my Mom[s family lived in Albemarle country Virginia since the 1600's. I have seen a huge change in Virginia as I lived there and visit often...I made Black friends there as a kid and when I was older and living in Connecticut there were no Black kids in my school. I went to school with all different kids in the south. In the North I didn't. The same was true in Georgia when I lived there as an adult. My kids had friends who were Black and Latina. We moved to Wisconsin for a job and later Ohio...and saw real segregation and surprising amounts of racism...maybe three Black kids in those schools...There was no diversity of any sort unless you count exchange students who were mostly white. I think Virginia and even Georgia have come a long way in terms of diversity and racial equality. I would remind you that LT Governor Fairfax won a statewide race. Thus I really think your comments apply more to states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan these days. I would add areas like upstate New York to that list as well.

[lunatica]

9. This thread and the responses are enlightening

in regard to our history. I’d like to thank everyone for their honesty. I learned a couple of things today.

Change is a multigenerational thing and isn’t naturally built in to human nature. Something must cause it. Perhaps the present exposure of racism will be the catalyst for the next stage. We’ll know in time.

[CatWoman]

10. thanks

here's an interesting article published in the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/02/06/virginia-is-birthplace-american-slavery-segregation-it-still-cant-escape-that-legacy/?utm_term=.e61704eb6076

[lunatica]

12. Thanks! That link is great for using a version of bullet points to

Illustrate the racist history of Virginia. I already knew of most of the incidences but had never known they all happened in Virginia! And, shamefully, the reason I even knew about them was NOT because any of them are taught in school or college, but because I’ve seen historical movies about them. Movies! How educationally sloppy is that?!

The tragedy in this is that until all Americans are taught these things in a serious educational curriculum on a national level, we will remain dangerously ignorant of the truth.

I’m going to try to keep this thread kicked.

[lunatica]

14. Kick

[Aristus]

11. I was so lucky to grow up as a military dependent.

We lived in military housing. And within a single block area, I had neighbors who were African-American, Filipino, Pacific Islander, Japanese-American, and Jewish.

The majority of the families in the neighborhood were white; but I never heard anyone tell me or anyone else we couldn't play with the kids who weren't. And it wouldn't have made a lick of sense to me if they had.

[lunatica]

13. I was also lucky in almost the same way

My family lived in every area of the US and I grew up in Mexico and South America. As it happened I went to High School in Fayetteville, NC where Fort Bragg is and my classmates included all the army “brats”. They were all the same races and nationalities you mention so the exposure of all the students to different races was never an issue, even though at the exact same time was when lone black kids were first bussed to white schools. So even though we were in the heart of forced integration it was simply not an issue for any of us.