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Comments
popeboyQ t1_jdzmlyz wrote
Oh is it really a "white" town? As in, "you had better not be caught being brown in our town" type of racist shit?
I thought those type of towns only existed in the deep south.
RVAblues t1_jdzo3wa wrote
It was created as its own town when federal law made Petersburg schools integrate. The whites moved across the river and set up their own schools.
Freseper t1_jdztuml wrote
The white flight from Petersburg absolutely happened, almost doubling Colonial Heights’ population, but it was incorporated 6 years before Brown so integration couldn’t have been the only reason for its existence.
popeboyQ t1_jdzo7aa wrote
Wow, how fucked.
RVAblues t1_jdzocro wrote
Yup. Scratch the surface of anything around here and there’s some effed up racist shit behind it.
BureauOfBureaucrats t1_je1apnc wrote
You don’t even have to scratch. Just lightly breathe towards anything.
Mystic-333 t1_jdzoow8 wrote
Thanks for that little history tidbit! Never knew why it carried that name.
popeboyQ t1_jdzosww wrote
Lovely.
guiltyofnothing t1_je1hl0r wrote
Just wait until you find out what used to be on Monument Avenue.
anonyngineer t1_je0l62s wrote
Others here can (and have) talked about its history better than I could, but it's far from being an all-white town today.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/colonialheightscityvirginia/PST045222
eziam t1_jdzsl7v wrote
Did you know that we had confederate monuments on a main street? We just recently took them down.
carlyslayjedsen t1_jdzyswj wrote
The Deep South is still alive and well in Virginia outside of the major metro areas. Go to Danville or Bedford and you’ll see what I mean.
Horror-Antelope4256 t1_je00zwn wrote
Is there a reason you’re calling out Bedford
carlyslayjedsen t1_je04dxe wrote
I was just thinking of places outside of nova/Richmond/HR that have a Deep South feel and also have a sizeable population. Didn’t want to include Appalachia because I think it’s distinct.
Also it’s one of the towns I’ve actually been to. I’m sure south Boston is similar but I’ve never been.
Baby_Beluga t1_je0i99u wrote
Talk about living in a bubble... Do you get your news from the comment sections or Twitter too?
gonefrombad t1_je0s9nh wrote
Pretty broad brush you're painting with there. African Americans are the largest demographic of both Danville and South Boston. Where else in the state would you like to ignorantly shit on next?
Horror-Antelope4256 t1_je0qrg1 wrote
What gave you a Deep South feel in Bedford
Calm_Butterfly3498 t1_je0jtcp wrote
I grew up around the Petersburg area back in the 80’s-90’s and the funny thing is that Colonial Heights was considered a posh area. When I go there now I have to laugh because I really believe that all the hate was the real downfall.
anonyngineer t1_je0na0h wrote
The Tri-Cities area (Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights) has some huge historical disadvantages in education, racism, environmental damage, and a limited economy (military with mostly young trainee soldiers rather than engineers/IT people and more senior soldiers).
Those issues don't disappear at the city limits of Petersburg and Hopewell.
[deleted] OP t1_je027bt wrote
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Charlesinrichmond t1_je0wpi9 wrote
If Tom Robbins in Pretty Legs is to be believed, it's always been a dump
BureauOfBureaucrats t1_je1ajct wrote
Colonial Heights/Petersburg/Hopewell is the most depressing area I’ve ever seen. Every customer I’ve driven to/from there was having a hard day in a harder life.
freetimerva t1_jdzmcbl wrote
Colonial Whites.
It's actually newer than the shitholes around it.
Most of the segregationists who moved there years ago migrated further west.