The 2008 presidential race is proof that even more than 50 years since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, America is still struggling with questions of race and gender and the role they play in our societies.

No matter which candidate takes the role of front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination, Americans will be faced with a ballot of firsts come November -- the first black or first woman with a chance to win the vote for president.

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's viability as candidates leave behind significant historical footprints in America, their presence also sparks questions of racial and gender stereotypes, prompting us to look to the past and question how we got to where we are today.

Created from an internal interest and an external need, the Valentine Richmond History Center presents its first of three major exhibits that take an in depth look at more of Richmond's recent history. Starting with the '50s, '60s and '70s, the Valentine opened with "Battle for the City: the Politics of Race 1950s-1970s" on Friday, April 4. The exhibit will run through Jan. 31, 2009.

"We administered a survey last year and found that people knew a lot about the Civil War and Revolutionary era, but not about the 20th century," said Lesley Bruno, director of public relations and marketing for the Valentine.

"So we decided to put together this exhibition, with a focus on the major issues of the day, which were politics, race, integration – and obviously, this was a snapshot of a larger national picture. Race is still a topic of discussion as are political power and transportation."

A major part of the exhibition deals with the demolition of poorer neighborhoods to make way for the controversial highways, namely Interstate 95. These arguments for and against highway construction soon turned into political and socio-economic issues for the city.

Correctly called "Battle for the City," aerial images of highway construction before, during and afterward portray just that.

"If you travel down 95 today, you'll see that it curves and winds, and what it's doing, is avoiding the places that people mobilized to try and save," Bruno said.

"For example, it almost cuts right through Sixth Mount Zion Church in Jackson Ward; it literally goes about 10 feet behind it's back door. There was a movement to save that church; otherwise it would have been demolished."