Dr. Ashley Thompson, assistant professor of sociology, is this week’s Central Virginia Person in The News & Advance. Dr. Thompson studies what southerners think about race. Here’s an excerpt:
Her research of late has focused on how self-identified Southerners think about race, particularly during segregation. Her findings — which she highlighted in a recent lecture organized by the Community Dialogue on Race and Racism — revealed a chasm between the memories of white and black Southerners.
“I was very surprised by the disconnect, especially among folks who grew up in the same very small town during desegregation and how different their recollections of that time were,” Thompson said, citing one North Carolina town where she conducted research interviews as an example.
