Segregation Revisited

I grew up during the 1950's and early 60's in Danville, Virginia. I believe Danville was one of the most segregated cities in America. As the "last capitol of the confederacy" I sometimes felt  back then the civil war was simply a temporary truce. Southern resentment was widespread; when the last union veteran  died before the last Confederate, I heard someone say, "At least we outlived the bastards."** Segregation in Danville existed everywhere as there were separate neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, bathrooms, water fountains, etc. Growing up I had little interaction with African-Americans so the whole segregation concept had no real impact on me. We were told things were "separate and equal." I accepted that even though in the People's Drug Store my father managed, blacks could not sit at the lunch counter; they could only order "to go" standing at the end of the counter.

Around 1961 sit ins began at several lunch counters. My father asked the People's headquarters in Washington for guidance and was told, we're not sure, use your own best judgement. He decided to open the counter to everyone, and it seemed to go calmly at Peoples although waitresses served blacks with paper plates, cups, and plastic utensils instead of normal washable items. My father died in late 1962 and by the following spring demonstrations were escalating. Demonstrators were beaten and arrested almost daily but the local newspaper did not acknowledge anything had even occurred. Finally the Danville white library closed to prevent blacks from using it. The library was housed in the Sutherlin mansion, the Confederate capitol site from April 3--10, 1865. Since I loved using the library I decided to use the black library. I finally realized segregated facilities in Danville were "separate but NOT equal."  Even after the white library was reopened all the tables and chairs had been removed. The summer of 1963 was tumultuous in Danville, but study history and you will find plenty of previous local atrocities and violence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I finished high school the next year with 3 black students in a school of around 2,000 and recall the scorn and ridicule they endured. I then went off to and graduated from an all white college. Demonstrations and desegregation efforts intensified during the 1960's, but had little effect on me personally. After college I went to work in New York and was asked why southerners disliked blacks sometimes by the same people who expressed dislike for Italians and other immigrants. During that time and for decades afterwards I judged people by their demeanor and character. Color is not a reliable indicator of whether someone was a decent person or an ass.

Recent events reconfirm to me that growing up white instead of black was an advantage especially in Danville. The recent turmoil over police actions resulting in deaths of  George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and others along with the public response to these type situations over many decades reminds me that racism and discrimination have existed in America over 400 years. It's taken many different forms, but to me it is like a crock pot slow cooking constantly and at times boiling over.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution except living my life treating others as I would want them to treat me. I certainly have empathy for anyone treated unjustly. That doesn't help the overall picture, but it does help keep my own conscience intact.


** Years later it was determined the last verifiable confederate veteran died in 1951, while the last verifiable union veteran died in 1956  At the rate monuments are now being questioned and removed, we may wind up a nation of pedestals.

Lance Armstrong--Revisited

I watched all 4 hours of the Lance Armstrong documentary. I began following Lance when he won the World Championship in 1993 as a 21 year old prodigy. About the only new information for me was his admission about using PEDs at 21. It's been 7 years since Lance formally admitted the doping allegations that dogged him since his first Tour win in 1999. During this documentary when asked about relevance, he said, "I am relevant." I certainly agree with that;  Lance did exponentially fuel interest in cycling in America and the world, he demonstrated that significant resources could keep cyclists ahead of those trying to regulate the sport, and like many other famous individuals, the fall from grace can be pretty brutal both financially and emotionally.

There's no question Lance paid a huge financial price. Many people will disagree, but I think he has for the most part paid the emotional price. He bullied a lot of people--both friends and foes--and I am not sure where his relationships stand with many of those folks. But you know what--it's none of my business. The one area of his impact that I would like to see resurrected is the impact he had on the cancer community. While the documentary displayed encounters with that effort, it suggested that stopped when he was asked to step away from his foundation. However, I've read articles that indicate Lance still remains available to that community. These articles were written by members of the Indiana hospital oncology staff where he received treatment, and were done with no fanfare on his part.

I hope that Lance Armstrong will take his incredible survivorship story to re-inject himself back into that role. If the foundation he started won't take him back, he is relevant enough to start a new path. Leave the lifetime ban in place; there's too much doping going on at the master's competition level. As for sponsors,, I think Lance has enough assets to live comfortably. When it comes to PEDs in cycling do not kid yourself; while cycling has been under scrutiny since Tom Simpson died on Mount Ventoux 53 years ago this stuff has been happening in almost every sport since at least 1900.

As for my original thought in 2013 about Lance running for governor of Texas someday, he has previously said that's no longer on his radar screen. However, he has proven that he can change his mind--about most any issue.