05-05-2025
Why we must listen to Virginia's governors — even when they don't reflect our full story
The Executive Mansion in Richmond's Capitol Square, the official residence of the governor of Virginia. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
I received an email about an event happening on May 17, 2025, at Virginia Commonwealth University, marking the 71st anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which dismantled segregation in schools nationwide, hosted by the Virginians for Reconciliation Project.
What struck me immediately — and not in a good way — was that the panel consisted entirely of white men. It stopped me cold. Everyone on the email thread I was on was outraged too.
That is, until I realized that the panelists were all former governors of Virginia. And in case you didn't know, Virginia has only ever elected one Black governor, L. Douglas Wilder, in 1989. Every other governor since the 1600s has been a white man.
My initial reaction was to criticize the lack of diversity on the panel, which seemed ironic since they were supposed to be discussing one of the most pivotal moments in American history that diversified classrooms in Virginia and beyond. Why not include former Gov. Wilder, now in his 90s? Or the current Black Speaker of the House? Or the Senate Majority Leader, a Black woman? Or the sitting Lt. Governor, a Black Republican woman? The only Black woman involved is the moderator — a sitting state delegate from Richmond — but she's not on the panel itself.
Let's be honest: A panel of all white men cannot reflect the full breadth of Virginia's past — or its future. But these men did hold the highest office in the commonwealth. They shaped Virginia's policies, laws, and institutions, for better or worse. And if we are serious about reconciliation, we must be willing to hear from those who held power, even when that power excluded us.
This is not about agreement — it's about accountability. We can't change the systems we don't understand. These governors can offer insights into what shaped Virginia, where it failed and where we must go.
Reconciliation is not passive. It is active, inclusive and uncomfortable. It requires listening — even when what we hear doesn't reflect our values or experience.
We are in a moment of necessary tension in Virginia and across America, vacillating between reverence and reckoning, history and hope.
This upcoming panel brings together seven former governors from both parties. Yes, they are all white. Yes, they are all men. The concerns raised about the lack of racial and gender diversity they represent are valid. In a nation still reckoning with the legacies of segregation and systemic exclusion, representation is not just symbolic; it's substantive. Diversity brings perspective. It brings the lived experience of those long shut out of decision-making rooms.
So why bring these seven men together now?
Because this is not a celebration of the past — it's a confrontation with it. Some of these governors resisted change. Some enabled it. All of them governed during periods of transformation or stagnation. If they are honest, their reflections can illuminate the forces that shaped us, and the courage or silence that defined their terms.
This is not the end of the conversation. It's the beginning.
I hope this panel helps Virginians become bridge builders and legacy leaders. Seventy-one years after Brown, we don't need self-congratulation, we need truth-telling. We need space to ask: What did we get wrong? What must we do differently? Who do we still leave behind?
In November, Virginia will elect a woman as governor — no matter who wins. That's never happened before. That's not symbolic. That's transformational. That's the arc of history bending, finally, toward equity.
Her time has come: Virginia will, after four centuries, have a woman governor
The panel is only one piece of a broader program. And to VCU's credit, the commitment to reconciliation is real. But reconciliation must be rooted in honesty. It must reflect the fullness of who we are and who we aspire to be.
So, if I may offer some unsolicited advice to enhance this program:
Add current Black leaders to the event. That could include the Black female Lt. Governor, the Black Speaker of the House, or former Black statewide officials.
Don't frame their inclusion as an afterthought. Make it clear they are essential to the vision of this event.
Emphasize that their leadership represents the future of Virginia. Not just diversity for diversity's sake, but the new center of power, voice, and vision.
To honor Brown, we must amplify those carrying the torch forward, not just those who held it in the past. We must widen the circle, deepen the dialogue, and ensure that reconciliation includes truth, representation and responsibility.
Reconciliation, after all, is not a moment — it is a movement. It calls us to listen across difference, to learn from power and to lift the voices long silenced. We are building a new bridge for Virginia, one strong enough to carry us GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
