VIRGINIA prides itself on being a birthplace of enduring democratic traditions. It was here that America made its first foray into representative government: in 1619, the House of Burgesses was created to govern the Virginia colony in partnership with a governor appointed by the British crown. Since then, however, Virginia has lived down some troubling distinctions.
The year 1619 also saw the delivery of the first African slaves. Their descendants would be liberated by the Civil War more than 200 years later but were shackled anew at the start of the 20th century—by the successor to the House of Burgesses, the General Assembly—under Jim Crow segregation laws that denied most black people the vote and other rights until the federal courts and Congress intervened in the 1960s.
As Virginia settles into the 21st century—it is now a mostly suburban state that, in presidential elections, comfortably tipped to Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—new twists on the old, disturbing ways are becoming more apparent.
A Republican-dominated General Assembly is churning out legislation targeting the new minorities: Asian and Hispanic immigrants and LGBT...Continue reading
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