On July 2, 2024, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published an opinion column by McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Jim Dyke reflecting on how his recent trip to the Danube River caused him to reflect on how Virginia tells its own history.
The former secretary of education from 1990 to 1994, noted that he spent “considerable time lately advocating for our education system to fully address Virginia’s history – the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Looking through the lens of his own multicultural and multifaith family, Dyke examines how his wife’s Jewish family originated in Hungary and Poland only to be killed or expelled from these countries and how their long history in these lands have been nearly erased. “Only in synagogue displays did we better understand how dreadfully the Jews, prior to extermination, were treated…”
Dyke noted that “Just as some in Virginia want to avoid the discussion of the ugly parts of Virginia’s history, such as the horrors of slavery, Massive Resistance, and the Jim Crow era, while simultaneously seeking to eliminate DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), Europe, too, must better acknowledge its horrific past in order to avoid history repeating itself.”
