Had to take my new foster dog for some veterinary treatment this weekend. This particular animal hospital gives us great prices on heartworm treatment in particular, so it’s worth the hour drive.
Thing is, an hour drive outside of Nashville is… well… kinda scary sometimes.
On the way, I drove through a little town of 900-something people where everything – streets, high school, etc. – is named after a Confederate Lieutenant General and first Grand Wizard of the Klan. It seems this little town was his birthplace. I stopped and took a picture of the monument in front of the town hall. (Not visible in the picture is the giant Confederate flag perched on top.) As I passed through the area, there were churches on almost every corner. On the corners that didn’t have churches were ammo stores. There’s a restaurant called Sambo’s. The town is 3% Black. Three. Percent. There’s not a single Black faculty member at the local high school.
I guess sometimes I forget that this world exists. There are young people growing up thinking that type of environment is not only normal, but right. We still have so far to go in this Beautiful Struggle.
*Title quotation from Forrest Gump. 
