Category: Julia Page 2 of 3

While doing the draft of my annotated bibliography, I found it easy to summarize the sources’ points and give a brief summary of the excerpt and its authors. Additionally, it helped me organize my thoughts about the assignment and give an idea about how my research question has changed throughout this assignment. At first, I asked, “How did the annexation of counties into Richmond affect the education system in the long term?” But, after analyzing the paragraph more I realized my new question was “How did the annexation of other counties into Richmond affect the city as a whole?” It was interesting to me to learn the history behind the annexation, and that people resisted it because they did not want to have to live in a diverse and economically worse place. The Richmond that I see now was built off this annexation of neighboring suburbs, which is also why there is such a noticeable difference in the city. I’m interested in looking at the other sources that I picked out, one of which was about the history of education after the annexation, and see how it relates to the primary source.

I have never had to do an annotated bibliography before, so I was interested in this assignment because I like that we are getting the opportunity to explore Richmond’s Unhealed History in more detail. I found it hard to find an accessible source to bring to class so that did take longer than expected. I chose an excerpt about annexation because I think that was a significant topic and relates to Richmond now, so my thought is that there will be more secondary sources that relate to this one. The source I’m using is from The Politics of Annexation gives a more in-depth explanation of how the history of the city was affected by divisions.

When my parents and I came to Richmond, the first thing that my dad noticed was that the highway cut directly through the city. I kind of brushed him off because he always notices things like this whenever we go to a new place, so I just assumed he was being nitpicky and that it was bad urban planning. However, after reading chapters 7-8 of Richmond’s Unhealed History, I realized that the placement of the highway through the center of the city was meticulous. It was heartbreaking to read about the communities destroyed at the hands of city construction, and the number of people displaced without anywhere to go. Another thing that struck me from these chapters was the extensive details about “managing segregation,” as Campbell refers to it. The lengths that the government went to in order to maintain racial and economic hierarchy removed any chance that people of color or those who were poor would be able to vote, get an education, or become employed (and then there was that law that you had to be employed).

I have to say while reading these chapters, there wasn’t a lot that surprised me. Boston has a deep history of bussing and redlining, and the term gerrymandering was coined in Massachusetts. So, learning that Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy, also had these same issues, was not surprising to me. However, this reading was hard to digest because of the extent to which lawmakers went so that integration did not happen in Richmond. Something that did surprise me was how hidden the city officials tried to keep their efforts to segregate the city. It’s like they knew what they were doing was wrong so they tried to hide it, instead of making efforts to comply with the federal government and stop segregating their schools, districts, and neighborhoods.

I found chapters 4-6 to be very informative on Richmond’s history in regards to the Slave Trade and segregation in the United States. In past history classes, I have learned about how Richmond and New Orleans were the two biggest players in the slave trade, but the details and excerpts from this book have opened up a whole new side of information for me. I thought it was important that Campbell used so many primary sources of differing opinions in these chapters, especially about slavery. As we discussed in class, it’s hard to relate to information when it gets told to you from someone else’s perspective. However, I thought reading the stories from people who experienced the slave trade, especially Dickens, made it feel so much more real. I also liked the detail and infographics used throughout the novel because I was able to grasp the ideas that Campbell brought up in a different light, specifically the chart on page 102 in chapter 6.

A repeating question I had throughout these chapters was how people were so unaware of what was happening in their city, state, and their country overall. Even twenty years ago citizens of Richmond were just beginning to acknowledge their history and the role they played in the evolution of slavery in the United States. I think Campbell did a good job touching upon important historical facts while simultaneously including information relevant to real people’s stories. Reading first-hand how people dealt with this history, the sacrifices they made, and the pain they endured, made me realize even more how important it is for outsiders to understand and learn this history, even if we were not a part of it.

The first two chapters of Richmond’s Unhealed History made me realize a lot about the city’s roots, and how that history has prevailed up to now. Despite the positive change the city has made to rebrand, it’s important that we always understand how the city was founded. Which then bears the question: What is the story?

I thought this novel has done a great job of being transparent and informative while simultaneously making this an engaging topic to learn and understand. There are records of Spain and other European countries discovering this “new world,” and descriptions of the people they colonized. In Virginia specifically, however, the main focus is the British and their ways of colonizing the indigenous people of Virginia. Despite efforts to get along, there was too much strife and violence, from both sides, to make any progress. There seemed to be a lot of back-and-forth between Indigenous Chiefs and British Governors, making it impossible to establish a civil relationship between the two groups. Additionally, both groups were unable to survive in large numbers, as it is noted that many died due to starvation and disease. This story has been told many times and is arguably one of the most well-known in American history. In hindsight, it is very sad knowing how this story ends because not that many people needed to die for there to just be some peace. But as we look at Richmond now, whiteness and Christianity prevail, and only street names and regions are remnants of the Indigenous tribes that first established this city.

Reading the article written by McConnell was eye-opening for me because it dove deeper into the effects that government sentencing has on children. It’s hard to reprimand teenagers, especially ones that have had hard childhoods because no one can provide the comfort and help needed to reconcile with that kind of past. Additionally, I don’t think any juvenile should be sentenced to life without parole because that doesn’t allow for growth or change, just reinforces harsh justice practices. That is why I was so inspired by the Bon Air facility because it allows for growth and understanding of how the crimes committed were actually very harmful. But in addition to this, it allows each juvenile to confront their past and get the help they need. If one grows up in an environment with abuse or neglect, it’s probably going to be hard for them to open up to others. Bon Air however understands this struggle and works with juveniles to better themselves, rather than sticking them in a cell for the rest of their lives.

I also found the video from The Atlantic very helpful in understanding what life is like at Bon Air. For example, Marquez explained that he was able to decorate his room, and that Bon Air provided everyone with stability they may have never had before. I’m hopeful that more facilities like Bon Air will open up around different parts of Virginia, just because it is so removed from the rest of the state and makes visiting hard for families. But also facilities like this should be open around the country; it’s like Terence said, you can’t have rehabilitation if you don’t have habilitation in the first place, and that’s what Bon Air does. It provides habilitation.

Question for McConnell

1. Where are convicted juveniles sent if they are not sent to Bon Air, and where are those located in regards to their homes?
2. Are there other facilities that are going to have the same goals as Bon Air built around Virginia?

1. (To David) Why did you choose to organize the book the way you did? What was the meaning behind whose story went first, second, last, etc.?
2. (To the writers) Did writing these stories together help you guys bond outside of the classroom? And if so, how did your relationship change throughout the course of the class?