Richmond's history has been largely defined by the relationship between its black and white communities, who often talk as if other people aren't in the room.
But as Richmond revisits that history through "The Future of Richmond's Past," other ethnic groups say they need to be included in a dialogue that may not reflect their past but could influence their future.
"I think if you just look at black and white, it's a very narrow discussion," said Michel Zajur, president and CEO of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
And a discussion that no longer reflects what the Richmond region has become.
"We have new people, we have a burgeoning Asian population and Latino population," said Reggie Gordon, CEO of the Greater Richmond chapter of the American Red Cross. "I've been to countless meetings where they've said, 'Hello, we're here too!' The black and the white thing is our past, but our future is a different mosaic."
Malik Khan, spokesman for the Asian American Society of Central Virginia, concurs. He said other minorities bring a healthy dose of objectivity to the conversation.
"We're neither white nor black, we're Asian," said Khan, a native of Pakistan who moved to the U.S. in 1973.
Asians are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as those having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent.
"We're a different community, as such, a different race, a different ethnicity," Khan said. "What is our take on this? That would be an interesting observation to have."
As relatively uninvolved observers, Asians and Latinos have picked up on the curious dynamic surrounding a period of history pivotal to local and national history.
"Richmond tourism and history has so much to offer," Zajur said, "and yet sometimes we're almost ashamed of that."
Tanya Gonzalez, manager of the city of Richmond's Hispanic Liaison Office, said Richmonders would benefit from a larger view that includes the lesser-known history of other cultures.
She noted that Spain, in what would be a failed attempt to convert Virginia Indians, started a Jesuit Mission along the York River decades before the Jamestown settlement.
"I do feel like it's still my history and that my community can learn from it," said Gonzalez, who was born in the Texas border town of McAllen. "But it has to be a two-way street."
Jonathan C. Zur, president and CEO of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, says the fledgling conversations must be forward-looking if they're going to move beyond black and white.
"Are we talking about something solely in the past or are we seeing how the past manifests itself in the present?" he said. "If we're talking about how we see inequities today, that's something that everyone can be a part of."
Khan, for one, is not interested in a discussion that goes nowhere.
"Mere lip service won't get us anywhere these days," he said. "It has to be substantive."
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.
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