City in Denial

With Martin Luther King Day having just passed and anticipating Black History Month in February, I want to recycle another of my Back Page pieces for STYLE Weekly (this one ran in 2002, not all that much has changed). Here's a preview:

“...With payback being heaped upon payback, progress didn’t stand a chance. Now, every time a controversy that touches on race pops up the oh-so-familiar cries are heard: ‘Oh Gawd! Let’s hope this business dies down before it makes the national news.’ Like a dysfunctional family in denial, we don’t want the rest of the country to catch on that Richmond is still trapped in yesteryear’s snare.

“Well, take it from me dear reader -- they already know. Everybody knows. Even in other parts of Virginia they know Richmond is frozen in time when it comes to race.”