Wednesday, January 11, 2023

January 11, 2023: Five Years of Considering History: Cville

[Five years ago this week, my first Saturday Evening Post Considering History column dropped. That space and work have become crucial components of my career over these years, so for this anniversary I wanted to reflect on a few particular, telling columns from my first year there. Leading up to a special weekend tribute and request!]

I have no doubt that no matter what I would have found some occasion to write about the one-year anniversary of the August 2017 Unite the Right Rally in my hometown of Charlottesville—my sons and I were literally driving down for our annual visit on the day in which all the violence erupted, and our next trip took place during that one-year anniversary in August 2018. But my Considering History column offered the perfect opportunity to do so, and in so doing to bring together those personal and familial contexts, my own experiences growing up in Cville, and my evolving perspective on the city’s histories and issues, among other subjects. Moreover, I had the chance to do so again for the two-year anniversary the following August, only deepening my own thoughts as well (I hope and believe) as our collective conversations. I can’t imagine I would have been able to keep writing this column for five years if it didn’t feel truly mine, and such opportunities and columns have most definitely helped make sure that it did and does feel that way.

Next anniversary reflection tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Thoughts on these columns? Your own writing to share?

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