Category: Virginia history
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Lee, a Study in Contradictions
By Bill O’Keefe Yesterday’s edition of The New York Times contains an opinion piece — “How Do I Tell the Story of Robert E. Lee,” by Allen Guelzo a professor at Princeton University. It came to me from a colleague of his whom I casually know but respect. Guezlo is about to publish “Robert E.…
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What We Want the Future to Know About 2020
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Several commenters to the previous post on the removal of the Lee Monument expressed interest in the items that were placed in the new time capsule that was to be placed in the base of the former Lee Monument. According to a news release from the Governor’s office, these are the items:
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Lee Monument Removed
Yesterday morning the Lee Monument, the last major and most prominent celebration of the Lost Cause, was removed. Virginia and Richmond have now truly embraced the 21st Century.
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The President Had Somewhere Important to Be
by James C. Sherlock The caption of the photo: “US President Joe Biden looks down alongside First Lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021, one of the 13 members of the US military killed…
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Virginia Beach and Afghanistan
by James C. Sherlock It was never a Navy war. But in this Navy town, it was brought literally home to us again and again. We are home to nearly half of the Navy SEALs, including SEAL Team 6. Something like 4,000 to 5,000 total plus their families. SEALs are America’s special operations forces specially…
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Make “Contextualization” Open, Vibrant, Dogma-Free
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia has taken down the statue of Indian fighter George Rogers Clark and is expunging other monuments and tributes to individuals who fall short of lofty, progressive 21st-century ideals. President Jim Ryan has promised that the statue to Thomas Jefferson, the university’s founder, will stay. But it will…
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On the Renaming of Community Colleges
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A school task force has recommended that John Tyler Community College be renamed Brightpoint Community College. I can understand getting rid of the John Tyler name. He was a slaveholder and a member of the Confederate Congress. He also happened to be a former president of the United States, but only because…
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Community College Libels the Man It Was Named For
by John Thomson Present-day controversies on renaming institutions are often about whether we judge the worth of our historical figures by the singular issue of slave-owning. One particular controversy needs a referee to call a foul: over a historian’s error in a biography of the English lord, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693-1781).…
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A Cavalier Disregard for Historical Documentation
The University of Virginia in recent years has devoted considerable resources to an excavation of unpleasant aspects of its past, from slavery and Jim Crow to the dispossession of land from the Monacan Indians. Other than the controversy over Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with his slave Sally Hemings, the scholarly findings have rarely been disputed. Perhaps…
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Wait, What? Was Patrick Henry a Good Guy or a Bad Guy?
by James A. Bacon Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing in the Northam administration? On the one hand (as recounted on this blog), the State Board for Community Colleges has ordered the Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC) in Martinsville to change its name. Henry, once revered as a founding father,…
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Disrespecting Stonewall Jackson Dishonors All Those Who Fought Under Him
by Donald Smith When we think about wars, we often think of the great commanders who led the armies and navies that fought those wars. Mention World War II, and names like Eisenhower, Halsey, Rommel and Yamamoto come to mind. If you think of the American Revolution, quickly you’ll find yourself thinking of Washington, Cornwallis,…