Since it's in the news, a thread on Charlottesville history as a 9-year resident of the city:
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And in 1964, Vinegar Hill, a historically black neighborhood was razed. Part of it would become part of the Downtown Mall.
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Charlottesville accepted the gift of several statues from Paul McIntire, a man whose name graces one of Cville's largest parks.
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These statues include a monument to Robert E. Lee, a monument to Stonewall Jackson, and a monument of Lewis & Clark & Sacagawea.
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The Lewis and Clark statue features Sacagawea cowering behind the two men. https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=11787 …pic.twitter.com/bMtyJJND06
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By the gift agreement, the city cannot remove these statues. But recently, the City Council voted 3-2 to move the Robert E. Lee monument.
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Hence, a white supremacist backlash. A gubernatorial candidate, Corey Stewart, is using this as a campaign point.http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/gop-s-corey-stewart-rallies-against-charlottesville-lee-statue-s/article_c3fb1640-8918-5489-8f03-9a23d9ef78d5.html …
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Jason Kessler, a right-wing blogger, recently dug up misogynistic and homophobic comments from Wes Bellamy, the city's only black counselor.
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He used these to try to force Bellamy to resign. Strangely, he seems absent on women's and queer rights otherwise.
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Kessler was arrested last night at the "Take Back Lee Park" rally for allegedly assaulting a woman.
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Charlottesville, being an independent city, is separate from the surrounding Albemarle County. Hence, many population analyses are low.
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The metro area, which includes the City and Albemarle, Nelson, Fluvanna, and Greene counties, is about 206,000. The city is about 49,000.
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Of these municipal units, Charlottesville was strongly blue, Albemarle County mostly blue, and the remainder red in the 2016 election.
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Charlottesville made national news several times in the past decade for violence against women, mainly white college students.
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Less publicized are the black trans women who have disappeared over the years.
#SageSmith -
Charlottesville regularly gets voted as a "Top Place in America to Live" by lifestyle magazines. It's a beautiful town for sure.
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But it has a very problematic history with race. And we'd like to believe it's in the past but it really very much is not.
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This includes police brutality:http://jezebel.com/reports-black-uva-student-beaten-by-police-for-having-1692199936 …
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But the population prides itself on its respectability in the Southern Tradition, so even though our politics are northern liberal...
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we are fast to disavow the presence of racism in our community even as it appears before our eyes. https://www.facebook.com/coybarefoot/posts/10209258170186666?match=Y295IHN0ZXZlbiBiYXJlZm9vdCxiYXJlZm9vdCxzdGV2ZW4sY295 …
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We are a small town deeply rooted in both the best and worst of American history. What happened this weekend is a shock, and it's not.
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It cannot be reduced to "white people with torches." But at the core we need to start with "white people with torches."
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Despite Thomas Jefferson's legacy, Charlottesville isn't well-positioned to be a center of activism. But we find ourselves here now.
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How the liberalist community in Cville responds will be a bellwether for how America responds to this growing issue.
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Anyhow, that's it. I just wanted to provide some deeper context from an actual resident. Sorry for crushing your TLs.
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One last thing:
@waldojaquith is much more intelligent about local issues and much more connected in town than me. His TL is insightful. - 1 more reply
New conversation -
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