America 1919

Everything is about the votes!

Pointing toward the distant beach, Donnie asked Nucky, "Have you noticed the scenery on this stretch of beach, Nucky?"

Nucky did not immediately grasp Donnie's meaning, so he replied following Donnie's line of sight, "It's as beautiful as it has always been."

Donnie laughed, "Do you know why it's beautiful?"

Shaking his head, Nucky looked at Donnie and asked, "Why?"

Donnie said, "Because of its purity, there are no other colors here!"

The beach along the Atlantic City Boardwalk, during the day, only allowed white people to play here, blacks were absolutely not allowed, even now Irving, the boss of the North District, had no privilege to break this rule.

If those black people wanted to enjoy the beaches of Atlantic City's Boardwalk, they would have to wait until night.

At this point, Nucky understood Donnie's point, and it was clear that Donnie did not agree with the proposal to establish schools and hospitals in the North District.

Donnie continued to explain to Nucky, "Nucky, business in Atlantic City is getting better and better, and tourists are coming in increasing numbers, but have you noticed a problem?"

"What problem?" Although Donnie had rejected his proposal, Nucky did not feel any dissatisfaction in his heart, a mindset he had prepared for when he decided to hand over the crown of Atlantic City to Donnie.

"There are two kinds of people who come here to play. The first is the wealthy, the second is the white-collar workers from the cities nearby or the tourists from distant cities who aspire to Atlantic City's lifestyle, but these people all have one thing in common—they're all white!"

Donnie spoke.

Blacks, now, were still struggling to solve their living issues, let alone have spare money to come and play in Atlantic City. Thus, blacks in Atlantic City could only be low-level workers.

"Imagine if we let these people know that we're actually preparing schools and hospitals for blacks. What do you think they would say? They would definitely think we have betrayed them. Then they will start to feel aversion towards Atlantic City, and the ones who will suffer the losses will be us, not those blacks!"

In reality, Donnie was not opposed to Nucky's idea of improving the welfare of Atlantic City's residents, but such matters must not impact the development of Atlantic City.

Perhaps when the influence of the black community slowlly began to rise in the future, Donnie would consider going with the flow, but he would never let Atlantic City be the one to lead the charge!

Even before the time Donnie came from, where it seemed that blacks had risen in status in the United States and supporting blacks had become a politically correct thing, a closer look would reveal that the majority in the American middle class were still white.

And as for the upper class, it goes without saying; when had anyone ever heard of a black person founding an influential consortium?

By that time, the method that would allow black people to climb the wealth ladder was still to engage in sports and earn wealth through their physical talents.

But this group of people was just a very small minority, while those participating in "free" shopping were more of the norm for blacks!

Nucky understood Donnie's point, but still asked with some hesitation, "If we only do this in the other three districts, then the people in the North District will definitely cause trouble!"

Inferior and sensitive—that was the disposition of these blacks.

Their skin color made them subject to social pressure and molded them into this way of being. Donnie could understand that, but it did not mean he would cater to their needs. What truly deserved Donnie's attention was ensuring his own business thrived!

"Actually, it's quite simple. If we do certain things, those blacks will quietly accept it. Of course, while doing this, we still need to control everyone's sentiments. What we want are obedient blacks, not those who don't know satisfaction!"

Donnie indeed had thought of a way to solve this problem!

Nucky showed a delighted expression and asked, "What should we do?"

"You do this..."

With Steve Cotting and Louis being present, there was no worry about the matters discussed between Donnie and Nucky leaking out.

After a long discussion, they finally ironed out all the details.

However, on this matter, Donnie kept himself in the background as the idea-man, and he would not handle it personally.

Regardless of the approach, the establishment of schools and hospitals would be in the name of the Surf Hotel, a reputation that Donnie could not avoid!

As the executor of this undertaking, once Nucky left the boardwalk, he invited the leaders of the four districts of Atlantic City to discuss the construction of schools and hospitals in these four districts.

Upon hearing about this, Irving's face naturally showed a smile. Irving was no longer the little brother following behind James; he had begun to think as a district leader.

He was well aware that if this initiative succeeded, even if the Surf Hotel was the main driver of it and would receive the gratitude of the people of the North District, he, as the boss of the North District, would naturally reap a bounty of worship; after all, he was the boss of the North District!

But the faces of the other three showed no such happy smiles.

Collectively, they turned their gazes onto Irving. They admitted that in terms of wealth, Irving might not be worse than them but so what?

They were noble whites.

In the restrooms of Surf Hotel where no blacks were admitted, even the black staff of the Surf Hotel had to leave the place to use restrooms designated for blacks.