EDITORIAL: Two Realities -- America’s Divide Plays Out in Burrillville

EDITORIAL: Two Realities -- America’s Divide Plays Out in Burrillville

It is the tale of two realities of an incident at a high school volleyball game.

The game was played between the two of the most racially and ethnically different communities in Rhode Island — maybe the United States.

It was simply high school girls playing a sport, their prospects of competing in college slim, more likely none.

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It was just a game.

But the two views of what happened is a microcosm of America today.

Two worlds collided and they are just 21 miles apart.

Burrillville is a rural community — 16,000 people live in one of Rhode Island’s largest towns — just 289 residents per square mile.

It is one of the most segregated communities, 95 percent white population. Middle-class residents have a median household income of $71,000.

It is Trump country — 57 percent of voters went for Donald Trump — Hillary Clinton garnered less than 35 percent.

Burrillville is old — only 20 percent of the town’s population is under 18 and 15 percent are over 65.

Burrillville officials say no racist comments were uttered during the game.

In stark contrast is Central Falls — the city is one of the most densely populated cities in America. Nearly 20,000 people live in just over one square mile -- more than 16,000 residents per square mile.

Central Fall is young. 30 percent of the city's population is under 18 years of age and just 7.5 percent are over 65.

It is poor — the median household income is just $30,000.

Central Falls voters went for Clinton — more than 80 percent voted for the former First Lady. Just 15 percent of voters cast a ballot for Trump.

Central Falls officials say racist comments were uttered.

Welcome to America in 2019, the local edition.