DANVILLE, Va. – A board game meant to celebrate Danville’s history has instead created a conversation on what may have been left out.
Danville NAACP president Tommy Bennett spoke during Tuesday’s city council meeting about his frustrations with the game, “Danville-opoly.” Bennett worried the game shunned Danville’s Black history, such as including the Union Street Bridge but not the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge.
“It did leave out a lot of Danville, and it left out the Black community,” Bennett told the city council. “It has City Hall, but it doesn’t have the Ruby Archer Library. It has George Washington High School, but it doesn’t have the former Langston High School.”
The company behind Danville-opoly, Cincinnati-based Late for the Sky, responded to 10 News’ inquiry about the game. The statement claims Late for the Sky offered to take Bennett’s advice on Danville’s Black historical sites after he called the company in February.
It continued:
“When we design a game we take suggestions from local people that we can connect with and what we common facts we can discover and vet through internet searches. We don’t check the ownership of the businesses. It is not our intent to alienate half of our market and exclude places that should be included. I will remove whatever public place that is not appropriate for inclusion on the game and replace it with something more inclusive. Further, we offered to add any Black owned businesses if it fits the criteria of the game (family fun or patronage, established history, place that everyone visits). We’ve not heard back from Mr. Bennett.”
Bill Schulte, Late for the Sky