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Prep Note 10/5/23

On October 4, 2023

Although slavery has been abolished at this point in history, the remnants of discrimination persisted. One thing I noticed was the fact that white people censored movies with racial themes, and they even rewrote history in a way that made their abhorrent actions regarding slavery “the rational choice.” This reminds me all too much of what is happening in today’s world, in which books with racial themes are being banned, and courses such as AP African American History are being banned in Florida. I think this reflects the idea that history is written by the winners. Perhaps it is an attempt to protect white people from feeling uncomfortable about their ugly history, but if you are not uncomfortable, then you are not doing the necessary work in order to move society forward.

Another thing that piqued my interest was the concept of redlining and how it resulted in mortgage loaning to be disproportionately low in Black neighborhoods. Even just driving through the Richmond area now, you can visibly see the lines dividing predominantly Black and white neighborhoods. On the subject of housing, I could not wrap my head around the fact that white people took down so many Black neighborhoods to build roads. This is too much like Indigenous colonialism, in which they staked a claim on their land and tried to justify it with superficial reasons. In this case, they claimed that they were “cleaning” up the poor neighborhoods and that public transport would be made easier with these roads, despite having to literally demolish Black people’s homes to build them.

The concepts of gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement also stuck out to me due to its presence today as well. I thought they really came up with the most ridiculous laws to prevent Black people from voting, such as making Black people memorize answers to questions and say it to them. The worst thing is, they didn’t even try to hide the fact that they were disenfranchising Black voters. Carter Glass literally said that they were working towards “the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of” (139).

Prep Note 10/5/23

By Julia Dalmanieras

On October 4, 2023

In Julia, prep note

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.

Prep Note 10/5/23

By Mitchell Parker

On October 4, 2023

In Mitch, prep note

I’ll never fully understand why a lot of the Virginia lawmakers (as well as the ones in Richmond) were so hellbent on chipping away the rights of African Americans. I haven’t sat down and had a discussion with anyone who had been alive during that period who could explain how historical context normalized segregation based on race, I only know that it happened and (thankfully) that it is beyond immoral.

This makes me wonder if there’ll be some revelation in the future that causes society to deem some other unjust institution immoral, and if people would look back on our time in history in similar ways. As referenced in the first few chapters, slavery hid itself under different names, and many were blind to how brutally it was robbing human beings of their rights by using excuses relating to the legal system, religion, and so on.

Prep Note 10/5

By William Sheets

On October 4, 2023

In prep note, Will S

When reading chapters 7 and 8 of Richmond’s Unhealed History, one of the things that really stood out to me was the ways in which racial segregation was preserved in Virginia through legal loopholes and gerrymandering. It shocked me that even after segregated public facilities and schools were banned, Virginian politicians went to incredible lengths to ensure that power remained in the hands of white people. Using the process of annexation in order to ensure a white majority voting population in Richmond, and other similar policies all intended to uphold the statue quo of racial segregation, shows just how deeply ingrained racism is in our society. I was saddened by the accounts of important black neighborhoods being demolished in order to construct massive super highways and I can’t believe that it was so easy for Virginia law makers to casually displace thousands and thousands of families with next to no support for them. I hope that there have been, and are still, efforts made to preserve and restore these historic neighborhoods to ensure that this essential piece of Richmond’s history isn’t lost forever.

10/3 Prep Note

By Angelos Charalampos Bouras

On October 3, 2023

In Angelos, prep note

Through reading chapters 7 and 8, I gained a better understanding of how segregation started and how it is still dominant in the US specifically in Virginia. Even after the revolution of the black population of Richmond, many of the policies that were taken were based on discrimination to support the economic system of exploitation. Even if the policies that were taken were considered to liberate people context is really important to be given and reality is really different than theory. Examples of this are how black kids would have access to education, theoretically, but funding that was given to an average white kid was four times more in comparison to the funding for a black kid. Moreover, black people would have access to work and to land, but since white people were always more privileged, they would be the ones that would be the owners of the land and of the companies, and therefore they would always favor, other white people. When their land, their home, their family, their education, their freedom, and their identities in general are challenged, and almost taken, there is no sense of speaking about decolonization and resegregation. Even connecting it to the current status of the US and specifically Virginia, history affects majorly the path society takes and even though constitutionally black people may have the same rights it can be even measured or just seen by any citizen that forms of segregation are still dominant in Richmond.

Prep note 10/3

By Ana Michaelis

On October 3, 2023

In Ana, prep note

A topic from chapters 4-6 that I had not known much about before was the colonization movement, and efforts to transport free blacks to a colonized area in Africa, Sierra Leone. I had no idea that this movement had gained so much traction, and that many abolitionists as well as the white population of Richmond, and James Madison had supported it.

It was also interesting learning about the jails within Richmond. Historically, this connects with writing our way out, and the racism within the justice system. Listening to specific stories about the torture faced by incarcerated blacks within the Lumpkin jail were horrific and stomach turning. It was also interesting to see that the beginning of jails being owned by private entities began so long ago, and that these entities were using their incarcerated as slaves for profit, just as we see in some jails today.

I also decided to read chapter 3, and I really enjoyed learning so much about Pocahontas. It was so interesting to me that she had been baptized, and lived the last years of her life in London. I did like how the author emphasized that we do not know her true motives for her baptism, or whether or not she was forced into doing what she had done, as there are no written entries from her.

Prep Note 10-03-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 3, 2023

In Brice, prep note

What caught my attention the most from chapters 4-6 was the significance of religion and Christianity when it came to integration of African Americans and White Americans. Biracial Christianity began to grow during the 19th century, and the partnership between black Christians and white Christians led to the establishment of black christian churches. Something else that struck me about the rest of these chapters was at the end of chapter 6 when the author, Benjamin Campbell highlights the fact that much of Richmond’s past was hidden. For example, the slave jails were buried under parking lots and superhighways. This reminded me of when Ana shared with the class that states in the south block any access to Native American history in schools. The author is implying that instead of avoiding mistakes in the past, they should be exposed and resolved to bring complete healing.

Prep Note 10/03/23

By William Linquata

On October 3, 2023

In prep note, Will L

Chapters 4-6 went into more depth about slavery and how it became more and more race-based and biased against Africans in the US. My American Studies class just finished a section in which we were discussing similar topics, including the idea of a wake and how slavery may be ended but it still affects people. Within these chapters, stories have been employed as a way to emphasize the dark past of not only the US but also Richmond. As I write my prep note I am looking at the cover of the book in which Richmond is on Fire; over parents’ weekend my parents and I went into Richmond and when we were walking on a bridge, we noticed there were quotes of Confederate generals and Richmond citizens celebrating this destruction when they were forced to give up Richmond to the Union. I feel all these horrible stories act as a dark guide of how this all came to be and show how contrasting history is to the present, although history still seems to bleed through in some places.

Prep Note – 10/3/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On October 3, 2023

In Javier, prep note

The chapters from Four to Six were interesting in that they revealed a side of history that I’d never noticed before. It goes in depth into the transition of how Slavery which was initially less race-centralized (with an emphasis on European Slaves) eventually shifted and over time became more and more systemic against Africans in the Americas. The earlier chapters detailed the general fundamentals of slavery that were Present, however, as the chapters progress, the transition becomes more and more clear.

The first warning sign was how Indians slowly had their rights weakened, and then a similar element occurred for Black Slaves. The shift from Anti-Native sentiment against those in power was a shift that I had not recalled in terms of focus, but also later elements — As to how slavery was relatively stable without influx and although still harsh, was also accompanied by both mixed congregations, the role of faith and religion in this transition was also an interesting element. it becomes clear that things go even more downhill with the sudden Cotton Burst in the state which increased demand for slaves exponentially.

I had not heard or recognized certain attributes such as revolutions before being confronted with them. It’s clear just how disturbing and rather morally unjust it was during this time period and how they rationalized it. While some used faith to promote equality and abolition, others utilized faith as well as other means in order to justify the necessity. The irony is how some slave owners would advocate against slavery. The transition from the start of the chapter to the end emphasizes a shift to focus on “slavery.”

An interesting component was the establishment of Liberia and the role it played in one of the chapters. It was a piece of American History that I’d never heard of before, which although a noble ambition, still had its flaws that were identified in the book.

Prep Note – 10/03

By Nicholas Gunn

On October 2, 2023

In Nick G, prep note

These chapters were informative but also shocking to read. It was interesting to read about the class system which greatly benefited the “great men” but harmed the rest of society. Despite the variety of classes in today’s society, none are nearly as clear-cut as they were back then. It was also sad to see how this system of indentured servitude of Europeans coming to America gradually shifted to give white people more freedom and increasingly less to black people. Then, the system would result in complete racial-based slavery. The treatment of these slaves was also disgusting and hard to believe at times. Slaves were just property, expended at the slave owner’s discretion without a shred of humanity. The fact that slave owners would be compensated by the government if they killed one of their slaves is sickening. Additionally, reading about Lumpkin’s Jail and hearing about the conditions these slaves experienced was horrible. I understand that slavery was extremely normal at the time, however, it’s still impossible for me to imagine how one human could subject another else to such conditions and not think twice about it.