Although I was disturbed to hear what Dr.Hayter was describing, I was not at all surprised by the actions of white homeowners. I have studied so little on the subject, and yet I feel as though every time I hear the stories of different cities, Black and POC citizens get the same kind of bs handed to them. I always feel as though I will never understand how you could hate someone so much that you go out of your way to make their lives more difficult. For example, Hayter mentions, “White power brokers combined white and black districts, relocated polling places to white neighborhoods, threatened economic reprisals against black voters and candidates, switched to at-large election systems, and continued to intimidate voters with violence.” as some of the ways in which society has depreciated black and POC lives. In some ways, I hope to believe this feeling is of self preservation, and not hatred. Hayter mentions the fear white people got when black people began to gain their right to vote, hold city council positions, own businesses. Soon I hope we can recognize that our genuine enemy shouldn’t be each other but those in power who make us believe we have scarce resources and only so many political ideologies to support.
I am in Oliver Hill, so reading this next section was just really cool and gave me more insight on the person who is helping me get through college. “[The movement] Led by NAACP lawyers such as Oliver W. Hill (who in 1948 was the first African American elected to Richmond’s city council) and ministerial gradualists such as Gordon Blaine Hancock, Richmond’s black leadership resolved to modulate Jim Crow through interracial cooperation after WW II.” Hill was a legendary lawyer who does not get enough credit for his works in the civil rights movement. Incredible to learn of the other social works he was a part of.
I too thought that “white fear/insecurity” is an extremely sad part of American history because you can see this fear today. This fear is more placed on to immigrants and the fear of losing jobs, however the ideology is the same.
I think your point about white fear as white insecurity is very relevant. Nearly all of the ways you pull out of Hayter’s article persist in some form today, even if not necessarily in Richmond. Virginia just passed legislation to strengthen voting protections, but Georgia just passed a law that would severely undermine them, and will disproportionately affect Black and Brown would-be voters. I think it’s important to not only see how this is lived history, but also that this is a lived present.
Hatred is the humanity’s worst issue. I agree, how can humans hate other humans so much? I will never understand that but it is the reality. We were in the same Justice class and I remember Hayter giving a great lecture about white fear when black people gained the right to vote and starting gaining more influence, so the reading really solidified those ideas for me. I also love the part about the enemy not being each other but those in power. Nice post!