On Monday, one of Virginia’s state senators attended the inauguration: Henry L. Marsh III, a longtime civil rights lawyer, who played hooky to witness a milestone for an African-American president.
The same day, Republicans back in the state capital, Richmond, took advantage of his absence to win a party-line vote, 20 to 19, to redraw electoral maps in a way that Democrats say dilute African-Americans’ voting strength.
It is not clear that the bill will survive a vote in Virginia's other legislative chamber, and if so it could be vetoed by the governor, but it is striking that the demographics of race are still at play to such a significant degree.
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