Offbeat Postscripts: Not so Pleasantville in Northern Virginia

Offbeat Postscripts is a series of short posts where we cover small topics of offbeat history in Northern Virginia.

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

There was another march/protest yesterday. 

For the DMV region, that’s nothing new. There is always somebody protesting something, especially in Washington, D.C. The 1963 Million Man March during the Civil Rights era, however, made making your voice heard and proving a point en masse a popular concept with national media attention. Much like the women’s suffrage movement growing from Seneca Falls to the steps of the White House decades earlier, the noise and activism started by a few noteworthy individuals grew to a collective effort of a large segment of the population.

Most recently, there have been a wave of protests, marches, and demonstrations in response to the Donald J. Trump presidency. In a grand wave of irony, they are marching for the same exact things they did previously: women’s rights, racial equality, and the unnecessary violence that stems from poor policy making. 

And then there was the march yesterday: The Million MAGA March. In completely unoriginal fashion, the organizers literally took one of the most important names in Civil Rights history, the Million Man March, and added “MAGA” to it.  Over a week after the 2020 election was called in favor of Joe Biden, Trump supporters flocked to the aptly named Freedom Plaza near the White House to protest the election results in support of the ideologue watching from his television. It’s like they are still yelling at people for sitting at a lunch counter. The lunch counter is just a lot longer with more seats. 

Are you sitting or standing?

Despite the misgivings of Trump supporters, change has happened. Joe Biden will be the 46th president. After January 20, 2021, the government can officially begin to undo all of the harm the previous administration has done to large segments of the population in the United States. That being said, the activism of many have already made changes, especially with regards to the removal of the racist effigies of the Confederacy that feature so prominently in the state of Virginia. 

Monuments are coming down all around in Northern Virginia. Fairfax County. Loudon County. Alexandria. Symbols of hate are being removed. The Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield turned into John R. Lewis High School this summer. JEB Stuart Park is now called Justice Park. The Washington-Lee High School is now called the Washington-Liberty High School. The Fairfax High School mascot is a lion, not a rebel. It’s not removing history. It’s correcting a mistake. As a student of history by trade and profession, you can’t kid a kidder. 

Thinking about everything that is going on, one of the things that pops in my head regularly is the film Pleasantville. In the film, the two protagonists are transported to a seemingly idyllic small midwest town set within a tv show, only to realize that their lives in black and what are anything but perfect. 

Slowly, citizens in the town slowly gain “color” as they come to dramatic realizations and new emotions and world views. Naturally, the townspeople react by rioting by destroying property, burning books, and harassing the “colored” people in the streets. They were angry, violent, and self-centered. Yet despite that emotion, there is no realization; no change in perception. They remain in black and white. 

It’s been less than one hundred years since the Klu Klux Klan marched in a parade on the same streets where MAGA hopefuls did yesterday. Let that sink in. The irony would be dripping if it wasn’t so sad and terrifying. So where can we improve?

Many places in Northern Virginia. In case you were wondering where, I’ve come up with a list for you. If we just focus on removing the racist remains of the Confederacy, here is a list to start with: 

GENERAL

• Jefferson Davis Highway (various)
• Lee Highway in Fairfax and Arlington 
• Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Chantilly

PLACES

Alexandria:

• Lee District Rec Center
• Matthew Maury Elementary School

Manassass:

• Stonewall Jackson Volunteer Fire and Rescue Dept.

Fairfax:

• Lanier Middle School
• Lees Corner Elementary
• Mosby Woods Elementary School

Springfield:

• Sangster Elementary

ROADS

Alexandria:

• Beauregard Street
• Bragg Street
• Braxton Place
• Breckinridge Place
• Chambliss Street
• Dearing Street
• Donelson Street
• Early Street
• Floyd Street
• French Street
• Frost Street
• Gordon Street
• Hardee Place
• Hume Avenue
• Imboden Street
• Iverson Street
• Jackson Place
• Janney’s Lane
• Jordan Street
• Jubal Avenue
• Lee Street
• Longstreet Lane
• Maury Lane
• Pegram Street
• Quantrell Avenue
• Reynolds Street
• Rosser Street
• Van Dorn Street
• Wheeler Avenue

Annandale:

• John Marr Drive
• Lanier Street
• Rebel Drive

Centreville:

• Confederate Ridge Lane
• General Lee Drive

Chantilly:

• Mosby Highway
• Old Lee Road

Fairfax:

• Confederate Lane
• Mosby Woods Drive
• Old Lee Highway
• Pickett Road
• Rebel Run

Manassas:

• Beauregard Avenue
• Lee Avenue

We’re in the middle of a historical moment, and one day the existence of these roads and monuments will be an offbeat coda to a long-standing fight to eradicate symbols of hate and racism. Like the MAGA march, they will exist as a footnote to an embarrassing moment in our history. 

One day soon. Here’s my favorite quote from Pleasantville:

“There are some places that the road doesn’t go in a circle. There are some places where the road keeps going.”