Joe, I've been a fan of your essays since I discovered them on ColdType. I love the pictures you paint of your town and the way you approach what are some serious issues in our society. I would love to visit Winchester and see some of the sights. The problem is -- and I'm quite serious here -- would a Black man stand a chance walking around Winchester taking pictures and stopping in the local watering holes?
To complicate matters, my wife is about as white as white can get. I imagine there would be the odd looks, we get that every place, even "enlightened" metropolises such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. I swear I don't mean to offend, but what I'm concerned about is the possibility that I could enter those hills and never be heard from again.
Neil
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Yo Neil! You come on down!
Barb and I would love to have you spend a couple of days at our house. Interestingly, this town has numerous mixed marriages because it had an unusually high rate of freedmen and is near Washington, DC. It's not what people say when they see a mixed couple. These days, it's what they do not say. Racist as many of these people's hearts are, there are plenty of working folks here who could not care less about mixed race marriages. Like my family, they have mixed marriages among their children, etc. Economic classism is the real issue that affects both whites and blacks here most seriously.
You and your sweetie call us and we can decide when y'all come down and let me fix you some heart stopping, git down and pound the floor good southern cooking!
In brotherhood,
Joe
