Remember: Racism in America is dead

I spent most of my early life in central Ohio. I like to think that Ohio is relatively free of the racism which plagues the rural south and the urban north and coasts. On the other hand, I know I'm fooling myself.

A New York Times article on indoor plumbing in small town Ohio reminded me of how much I'm fooling myself.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio--In January, a strange thing happened when people along Coal Run Road turned on their taps. Drinking water came out. Not the sulfur-tinged, bug-infested stuff that collected in their cisterns or swirled in their wells. Cool, clean, straight-from-the-pumping-station city water....

In 2002, two dozen residents filed a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, asserting that they had been denied water service because of racial discrimination. Last summer, the commission agreed.

The commission found that on Coal Run Road, none of the 17 black or mixed-race homes had city water service, while two white homes did. On nearby Langan Lane, all of the 18 white homes on top of the hill had city water, while five of the eight black or mixed-race homes in the hollow did not. (The other three families had connected to the municipal lines by themselves.)

The commission concluded there was probable cause to believe that the city, county and local water authority had "failed to provide the complainants with access to public water service because of their race."