Oh, Virginia, mired in racism and xenophobia.

I am rarely proud to associate myself with this state, Virginia, when it comes to its historically racist past and homophobic, xenophobic present. Virginia was one of the first established colonies in the New World and Jamestown, VA, the first settlement. And yet, even after 400 years of existence, we are still producing laws and policies that are overtly racist and xenophobic. Interestingly enough, more presidents have been born and raised in the Commonwealth of Virginia than any other state in the Union. Virginia has a lot to offer, but it has offered so little in regards to justice, tolerance, and humility over the past 4 centuries. In honor of Black History Month (starting tomorrow) and to quench my own curiosity, I've done a bit of research on Virginia's ugly past and present:

*1619, first African slaves arrive in VA
*1661, in order to maintain needed labor on Jamestown's tobacco plantations, VA legislature legally recognizes slavery
*1667, VA legislature declares Christian baptism does not "exempt slaves from bondage"
*1705, VA legislature passes statute on "casual killing of slaves" that states, "If any slave resist his master...correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction...the master shall be free of all punishment...as if such accident never happened." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_codes)
*1723, free African-Americans in VA are forbidden by law to carry weapons or associate with slaves.
*1762, the VA legislature passes law forbidden black males from voting.
*1792, northern States begin freeing slaves. With invention of cotton gin, demand for slavery increases and Virginia law forbids free blacks from entering the State.

Jumping ahead to Jim Crow era...

*1870, VA passes education statute prohibiting white and 'colored' children from being taught in the same school.
*1873, VA miscegenation state code: white persons who married Negroes would be jailed for at least one year, and fined a minimum of $100.
*1900, VA passes statute requiring railroads to offer separate cars for black and white passengers
*1901, city of Alexandria passes city ordinance requiring segregated streetcars
*1912, VA residential statute passed, stating "the preservation of the public morals, public health and public order, in the cities and towns of this commonwealth is endangered by the residence of white and colored people in close proximity to one another," authorizing cities and towns that adopted the provision, to be divided into districts known as "Segregation districts
*1924, to reinforce anti-miscegenation laws passed in the 1600s, VA passed law that prohibited whites from marrying anyone with “a single drop of Negro blood”
*1930, VA state code requires segregated audiences of every theatre, movie theatre, opera house, and other places of entertainment
*1930, VA passes bill for the "preservation of the white race," defining a white person as on with "no trace whatsoever" of non-white blood.
*1967, in court case Loving v Virginia, an inter-racial couple married in DC are arrested upon returning home to Virginia. The Supreme Court ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

Here are some incidences of racism and xenophobia that have happened more recently:
-former Senator George Allen's uses term 'macaca', a racial slur, in referring to a young man connected with the campaign of his opponent, James Webb
-Virginia Representative Virgil Goode went on record as opposed to newly-elected Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison's intention, as a believer in Islam, to use the Koran in his swearing-in ceremony.
-Virginia state legislator, Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, Sr., offended African-Americans and Jews in his comments in opposition to legislation which would have the state apologize for slavery. Virginia apologizing for slavery in its past, Hargrove said, would be similar to having Jews apologize for killing Christ. When Delegate David L. Englin, who is Jewish, called Hargrove's remarks "inflammatory," Hargrove told Englin his skin was too thin.

And most recently, I read this headline today on the front-page of the Washington Post: "Va. House Approves Bill On Illegal Immigration: Aim Is to Block Access To State, Local Funds." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013001780.html) This bill could force the Virginia Association of Free Clinics and the Salvation Army, among other groups, to verify immigrant status before offering assistance to those in need or lose their funding (according to the article). Sponsor of the bill, Del. Miller from Manassas (my friggen' hometown) says, "The ultimate goal is to make the commonwealth of Virginia an unwelcome place if you are in this country illegally." The article also stated that Virginia has passed a number of other bills to make life "difficult for those who have entered the country illegally" - denying in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants, punishing employers who hire undocumented workers, expanding the power of police to apprehend undocumented persons.

The ACLU chapter in Virginia provides some more information regarding the infringement upon immigrant rights in Virginia: http://www.acluva.org/pages/ImmRights.html Are these policies and those during slavery and the Jim Crow era not intimately related, rooted from the same distrust and hatred of the Other? Something must be done....