Giving Racism a Fender-Bender

Apparently there are neighborhoods that I "shouldn't" visit while visiting Lynchburg. I have been warned that there are streets where I wouldn't be well received because I am white. However, I didn't learn this until after I had spent afternoons running around the centers of such quarters. My experience in these areas involved nothing but friendly interactions and positive conversations with individuals and groups of people who were enthused to become a part of the political process by registering to vote and posting my fliers in their buildings.

One of my crew members/friend explained the racial-cultural dynamics of Lynchburg to me. The town is still very much in slavery mentality in that there is a massive divide between the whites and the blacks. Each group is in fear and loathing of the other. However, as an outsider, I refuse to play into these games. I want to introduce the people of Lynchburg to the twenty-first (or even twentieth) century by expressing a natural comfort with everyone in town. I felt nothing but safe when I naively entered into the "wrong" streets because I did so with positive enthusiasm. The people I met with responded in kind. Nearly everyone I pass in the Ward 2 part of town now recognizes me as a vote registerer because I have spoken with them personally or by the clipboard I carry as a sign of my mission. Lynchburg is a particular place because it is so physically removed from other populous areas and the majority of visiting outsiders are attendants of the neo-conservative Liberty University. Attitudes and relations between many locals are preserved from the days of the Civil War.

That is not to say that there are exceptions. I have met many inspiring people who work on our crew, provide us with office-space at the Starlight Cafe, or cheer us on in the streets. Chris and I have agreed that doing what we do, we get to meet all of the coolest people in town (the other Chris was called to another office). We get invitations from several people on any given day to hang out when we get off of work. Unfortunately, we usually get off of work after 1am and start again around 8am. However, we are currently devising a way to carve one evening out for fun with our local friend - whose name is also Chris.

I want to end this blog with a note of assurance. I am not being reckless with my own safety. I am continuing to learn more about the nature of the neighborhoods of Lynchburg. I will not enter "unsafe" neighborhoods without the accompaniment of friends. However, I refuse to compromise my passion and enthusiasm. I WILL say hello to everyone I pass even if they are labeled as haters of white people. I WILL offer to empower others through registration. I WILL continue to act with politeness and a smile. I also look at the crew that we are continuing to build as a microcosm of tolerance. During check-out at the end of the day, crew members of African descent are chatting and comparing their number of registrants with members of European, Caribbean, and mixed descent. Even if it is in a minor way, I feel that I have dented a tradition of racial tension in Lynchburg.

I can't help but feel the history of the South as I drive through the aged streets of Lynchburg, Virginia with the other directors (who are both named Chris). The African-American sector of town is composed of old, brick homes separated only by wide margins of grass. Fences are virtually non-existent in Virginia. In California, houses have yards or back patios. In Virginia, stretches of green have houses dotted across them. Many of the houses in these African-American neighborhoods are centuries old. The irony is staggering. The original inhabitants of these homes made their wealth off of the great-great grandparents of the families who now live in them. Greenery is abundant in Lynchburg - crawling over walls, up buildings, and bursting off the hills. Iron curlicues hide among the bricks not far from the massive geyser along the river.

Now that I've established that Lynchburg is beautiful, I must admit that I've spent a great deal of time in some of the less sightly locations of the city. Today I canvassed registrations for hours in front of The Dollar Tree (one of a dozen or so "Dollar" stores in town"). On that shift I out registered anyone in the short history of our crew! The Chrises and I are recruiting more and more locals to work with us everyday. Yesterday I hit up almost every Mini-Mart in town for permission to poster information about the job in their front windows. The highlight of the day was when I stopped into the Starlight Cafe - which is two doors away from a tiny music shop that I would love to scour if I ever got a free moment. The cafe manager said that he was having a voter registration concert that very night and would plug the Community Voter Project between every song! We are also now featured in an ad in the local paper, a radio station, and in the orations of a few local ministers. We have spoken with the headmasters at the historic black college and numerous enthusiastic participants in the electoral system.

It is so easy to register people in Lynchburg. If I speak with a handful of African-Americans in town there is a good chance that at least one of them will be interested in registering to vote. I believe that there are two reasons for this phenomenon of massive registration. Firstly, a large portion of the African-American population of Lynchburg has NEVER registered to vote. I have registered numerous adults and elderly people who have never voted in their lives. Can you imagine? A seventy year old woman who is only now for the first time planning on voting. The second reason is the enthusiasm for Obama in the African-American sector of town. I have been exposed to minor but powerful examples of regional racism in speaking with local White people and observing the interactions between the staff members of different races at diners in town. I can imagine that after a lifetime of experiencing and witnessing bigotry it must feel uplifting to participate in this election. I know that I am really excited to vote Obama but my anticipation is minimal in comparison to the old lady who told me today, "I wouldn't miss this election for the world. I'll crawl to the polls if I have to!"

This blog is coming to you direct from the heart of the Appalachians! I am currently stationed in a hotel room in Western Virginia outside of Lynchburg. The name of this city horrifies me but fills me with excitement at the prospect of empowering its African-American community. I will be opening an office in Lynchburg to register as many African-Americans as possible through Community Voter Project (CVP). Lynchburg not only has a sizable unregistered minority population but is also the home to the largest of America's Top Ten Conservative Colleges: Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. The town newspaper, The Lynchburg Ledger, features a spacious piece by Bob Weir commending a certain notorious hockey mom. I have my work cut out for me!

Now I will backtrack a bit. The series of events that brought me to the Commonwealth occurred in rapid succession (not secession!). I will share the CliffsNotes version of my adventures of the last 2.5 weeks.

Sunny days of Sept. 2 - 12: Canvassing Menlo Park for Environment California with intelligent and amusing activists

Sept. 5: Signed off on my Masters at UCD - Yipee!

Afternoon of Sept 14: Phone conference about my options within Progressive Future

Night of Sept. 14: Given opportunity to becoming a Canvass Director in CVP

Dreamy morning of Sept. 15: Proclamation of my departure to Virginia for a meeting scheduled the next day

Witching hour of Sept. 16: Hop a plane to Dallas

Ungodly hour of Sept. 16: Hop a plane to NYC

Sometime later Sept. 16: Hop a plane to Richmond, VA

And now back to the unabridged version. Imagine my surprise when I was picked up from the airport by two fellow Davisites in a PT Cruiser! We were given training both yesterday and today along with a handful of other directors from across the nation. This morning, I canvassed for votes for approximately an hour and registered two people in downtown Richmond. I was later given my placement assignment in Lynchburg and made the long drive out to town. And here I am! Tomorrow will be the first big day of building the office. I better go to bed now for a strong start in the morning.

Pre-canvassing

Tomorrow begins what I expect will be a monumental experience. For the next two and a half months, I will act as Canvassing Director for Work for Progress' Progressive Future project to ensure the election of Barak Obama and Joe Biden. This position entails a gargantuan pile of responsibilities and trips across the country. My training will commence with celebrating my 26th birthday by canvassing the neighborhoods of San Francisco and learning how to set up and run an office. This year my birthday wish may be politically themed.

I am anticipating long work hours for the next two and a half months so I don't know how much time I'll have available to blog about my adventures. I may be tempted to spend my free time napping. However, I realize that there are people who are eager to stay updated on all of my doings (hi Mom) so I'll do my best to keep Obamarama current. I suppose another benefit of maintaining a blog would be the reward of a log recording my journeys through fall 2008 that I can look back on one day when the experience isn't as fresh in my mind.

Wish me luck!