N&R editorial page editor Allen Johnson did an exit interview (unposted) with outgoing Bennett College president Julianne Malveaux, where she gives her impressions of Greensboro during her five-year stay:

She speaks highly of her relationship with, of all people, Bryan Foundation President Jim Melvin, who probably dwells in a different universe from her politically.

But she says the city’s potential is hindered by its shortcomings. She sees a layered community whose top and bottom strata are eager for change, but whose stubborn middle isn’t. She sees lingering racial tension. “It’s nasty nice,” she said. “It’s unspoken.”

I’m not sure in which circles Dr. Malveaux operated here in Greensboro, but somehow I suspect it’s not the ‘stubborn middle’ that isn’t ready for change. Which in turn makes me wonder to whom she’s referring when she describes ‘nasty nice’ lingering racial tension. As for the top and bottom strata, something tells me their respective versions of change are radically different.