The Nation: Two Virginias

[marmar]

Two Virginias
posted by Melissa Harris-Lacewell on 04/08/2010 @ 4:10pm


Governor Robert McDonnell declared April Confederate History Month in Virginia. In his declaration Governor McDonnell called for Virginians to "understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."

In his original declaration, McDonnell made no mention of slavery as a root cause for the Civil War. His insistence on remembering only "leaders, soldiers, and citizens" refuses to acknowledge the existence of black people in the South. There were some black soldiers who fought in the Confederate army, but the vast majority of African Americans contributed to the Confederate effort through the violently coerced, unpaid labor that was part and parcel of the their dehumanizing, totalizing, intergenerational, chattel bondage. McDonnell seems to believe that this reality is unworthy of remembrance.

It's taken me nearly two days to respond to the Governor's declaration of Confederate History Month and his flip erasure of black life, suffering, and struggle because this particular news story is profoundly personal.

On my father's side we traced our family tree as far as we could follow it and discovered we are descended from an African woman sold into slavery on a corner in Richmond, Virginia. My father and his siblings grew up in the Church Hill neighborhood in Richmond. They attended racially segregated schools. Despite being nearly starved for school resources by the state, my father and his twin brother became the first in the family to attend college. Both became college professors. My uncle had a distinguished career as a student at the University of Virginia. My father went on to become the first Dean of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia in 1976.

I grew up in Virginia. I had social studies teachers who referred to the Civil War as "the war between the states" or "the war of Northern aggression." My interracial family experienced harassment and abuse during the two decades we made our home in the Commonwealth. But Virginia is also the place where I made lifelong friends, found spiritual communities and was educated by many tough and loving teachers. I came to political consciousness in Virginia and distinctly remember listening to every word of Douglass Wilder's inauguration address as the first black governor. I cheered on election night 2008 when Virginia turned blue just moments before Barack Obama's presidential win was announced. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/550073/two_virginias

[foxfeet]

1. Three Virginias, actually. West Virginia seceded from Virginia and became a separate state in 1863,

It's a point of pride in WV.

[Leftist Agitator]

4. Thank you for saying what I came here to say.

:)

"It's a point of pride in WV."

Indeed.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. k n r

[rug]

3. Wasn't that a Lennon album?

[Nikki Stone1]

5. And rimshot!

[WeDidIt]

6. I grew up in Indiana

I had Social Studies teachers explain how in the South they called it "The War of Northern Agression" but in truth it was "The War of Southern Treason".