Assignments
Dividing Spaces, Dividing Races: Residential Segregation in Richmond,
Virginia (Web Project Proposal)
Introduction |
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In April, 1911, the city council of Richmond drafted, and the city’s
mayor passed, an ordinance that made it unlawful for anyone of a
certain race to reside in a building located in a district designated
for another race. The act empowerd the city council to create “segregation
districts” in the city, and designate sections of streets
for “white” and “colored” residents only.
Why did city officials feel it necessary to limit the integrated
living of persons of different races? Why did they feel it was necessary
to protect the morals, health, and social welfare of the people
of the city? How did they decide which districts were where? How
did they enforce their decisions? How did these ordinances affect
the social, political, economic, and cultural makeup of Richmond?
Finally, what is the role of residential segregation in broader
historical contexts, especially in relation to other forms of segregation
throughout the early 20th century? The purpose of this site is to
take a critical look at these questions while accommodating different
users in this exploration of residential segregation in Richmond.
Some of the materials included in this site will be dynamic maps
modeled from the maps available at Histmaps. One important aspect
of the site is the creation of Flash-driven interactive maps that
help show how residential segregation emerged spatially and geographically.
Modeled on the maps available at Histmaps,
these maps would serve as the primary resource for examining the
geographic dimensions of residential segregation. I would like to
create maps that show changes over time regarding such aspects as
number of persons living in various districts, the changes in population
density in those respective areas, percentage and number of population
by race, property values, et cetera. Combined with the dynamic maps
will be mini-archives of newspapers related to residential segregation,
court cases and records, city council records, and the various residential
segregation ordinances themselves. The goal is to make this material
widely available, offer interpretations of the material in the form
of a digital scholarly publication, and provide tools and exercises
for teachers to incorporate the site into classroom instruction.
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