Dialogue on Race

The more informed people are about a topic the more likely they are to make sound decisions. That is what John Nowlin, a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, always has believed. Nowlin, 77, says the most significant difference between race relations today and when he was growing up can be boiled down into a few words: opportunities, accountability and honest discourse.

In 1940, roughly six out of 10 black women worked as domestic servants. That number today is under three percent. In 1958, nearly 44 percent of whites said they would relocate if a black family became their next-door neighbor. Today, the number is less than nine percent. When the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, only 18 percent of whites said they had a black friend. Eighty-six percent make that claim today.

Advocating for the betterment of the black community is something that Nowlin has done for decades. He has been involved with the local NAACP branch and numerous other organizations committed to making a difference for years. 

Growing up, Nowlin says he experienced racism on a regular basis. “Here is just one example. When I was a teenager, we would have fairs that would come through the area,” he said. “Whenever blacks were on the fairgrounds, we were harassed constantly and called all kinds of racial slurs.”

In 2002, the Community Group, a non-profit, was created to help enrich the African American community through education, political action and social-economic empowerment.

After the reactions of the community to the change of a high-school mascot from an Indian, the hiring of the first African American school superintendent and the election of the first African American president, the group realized in 2009 that an honest conversation about race needed to happen.

The Dialogue on Race Committee was created to do just that. The committee worked for nearly three years to find a way to talk about race. They contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) hoping to find a model to use to do their work. Unfortunately, after meeting several times with a person from the DOJ, no help was in store. 

The committee then reached out to the City of Lynchburg that had done some work around the issue of race, but a good fit never happened. Finally, in 2011, the committee asked members of the African American community to come together to answer one simple question: What is it like for you to live in Montgomery County? 

After identifying the top five issues, data was gathered to help prove these situations were indeed real issues. In January 2013, the Montgomery County Human Relation Council, which was established by the Board of Supervisors in the 1960s to help address racial issues, held a community summit to present the issues to the public and discuss possible solutions.

“We were hoping to get at least 30 people, but more than 100 showed up. That meant we had to set up more tables and order more food, but it was great,” said Penny Franklin who was unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict. She was, however, on the phone throughout the day asking questions and getting reports. 

In 1999, Franklin became the first African American to be elected to public office in Montgomery County. “Many people lost their minds when this happened,” she said. 

In January 2013, the first Dialogue on Race event took place. More than 100 people of all races endured icy conditions to gather inside the Blacksburg Community Center to talk about race and racism. The main purpose of the meeting was to speak candidly about the African American experience in Montgomery County and challenges moving forward. 

Since creating Dialogue on Race, Franklin, along with the Community Group and Steering Committee understand the power of committed people working together.  On June 2, a joint press conference among Dialogue on Race, Montgomery County Law Enforcement Leadership and elected officials from Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Montgomery County took place in Blacksburg. Del. Chris Hurst attended. All leaders denounced the murder of George Floyd and so many other African Americans who senselessly lost their lives due to the actions of police officers. 

“I am here today as a person of privilege. I’m privileged to be the mayor of Blacksburg and I think most of you would identify as people of privilege, too. We are here because our complacency has been shattered. Neither I nor any other person of privilege can justify silence anymore. We who gather here today are wounded. We are damaged by the enduring marginalization of people of color in this country and even in this county,” said Leslie Hager-Smith.

 “We cannot enter into dialogue without radical respect for our fellow citizen,” she added. “We will not assuage their anger by responding with rubber bullets. We cannot restore justice by meeting their tears with tear gas.”

Approximately 100,000 people live in Montgomery County, and fewer than five percent are black. It is not unusual, said Franklin, to go days without seeing a black person. 

“When people come here and they experience that, they get nervous. Such numbers make it difficult to recruit within the school system,” she said. “I am tired of being uncomfortable so if what I say makes others uncomfortable, then so be it. My mindset is, ‘now that we are both uncomfortable, let’s figure out how we can work through that.’”

Franklin continued: “Dialogue on Race is not about sitting around and just talking. It is about action. The overall goal is to eliminate racism in Montgomery County. I know that it is lofty, but that is what we work towards every day. We have made progress over the years, but there is still a lot of work to be done because the fight is not over.”

Past Steering Committee members include David Britt, Latanya Walker, Holly Lesko, Jim Dubinsky, Lisa Garcia, John Sills and Tonya Smith-Jackson. Five individuals comprise the current committee: Penny Franklin, Andy Morikawa, Wornie Reed, Martha Ann Stallings and Debbie Sherman-Lee. The five Race on Dialogue issue groups – Law Enforcement, Jim Crow and White Privilege, Employment and Income Gap, Education, and Limited Presence – have remained the same since day one.