Hallway, University of Virginia Law School. Image source: "A New Materialism" |
Studying the law.
Where the vestiges
of racism
Had been hidden
under a rug,
Its stain absorbed
by the wise, aging wood
or swept away by
a black, hopeful janitor.
He diligently cleaned
Jefferson’s hallways
and bathrooms
So that one or more
of the gentrified students
could one day
stamp out the racism
still permeating America’s
noble, hallowed halls.
Gil Hoy is a Boston trial lawyer and a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.