Wednesday February 1, 2023 - A Special Black History Month Edition
FROM THE EDITOR: The Need Has Never Been Greater | GUEST COMMENTARY: Gaila Sims | GREAT LIVES: Coming Thursday
FROM THE EDITOR: We’ve never needed Black history more than now
Image under of Glenn Youngkin is by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin over the past year has become the poster child for why we need Black history.
A privileged white male who embraces white evangelicalism, was educated in a white educational cocoon - Norfolk Academy and Rice University were hardly bastions of multiculturalism in his years at these schools - and made a fortune in the world of private equity, which is dominated by white males, Youngkin has repeatedly stumbled in his dealings with race.
In September, the Washington Post tried to make sense of his actions - reaching out to historically Black colleges on one hand, and railing against equity on the other; pushing an initiative to aid Petersburg, a poor, majority Black city, then backing blatant racists on the campaign trail during the midterms; and stirring up racist sentiments by demonizing CRT on the campaign trail and after winning the election.
Confronted with the inconsistency in his actions, Youngkin said:
“One of the reasons why Virginians elected me is to not do the same thing over and over again and get subpar, if completely unacceptable, outcomes, but to try new things, and oh, by the way, partner into communities that oftentimes are overlooked.”
Except what Youngkin is exhibiting is not “new things,” but the same myth that whites have been telling themselves about Blacks for generations. Thinking that goes along the following lines: If Blacks would quit agitating for change, they could pull themselves up by taking advantage of all the opportunities available to them in this country.
Martin Luther called out this myth in his “Letter from A Birmingham Jail” in April 1963. Speaking of the the white clergy in Alabama, he wrote:
You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.
It is instructive that white America loves to quote from King’s “I Have A Dream Speech” - Youngkin, predictably, did in Executive Order 1 banning CRT - but rarely, if ever, talk about or discuss this letter of King’s.
The reason why is fairly simple. This Black History month, we stand in the same place that King stood 60 years ago. White Americans bemoaning protests and defund the police movements, without stopping to ask about the underlying causes that have brought both about.
More worrying, we’re moving to squash discussion of these issues all together. The parents’ rights movement rails against the teaching of CRT, but refuses to face the reality that by denying Blacks equal and fair access to property rights for generations after the Civil War has a direct effect on the Black poverty rate today. Glenn Youngkin rails against equity, but refuses to acknowledge that in many areas of America, people do not have the same shot at success. And whites who want to argue that things are better today than they were 60 years ago - “We’re making progress” - refuse to admit that we are, in many ways, as segregated as we were in Kings’ time.
As we begin Black History month today, it’s important that white America finally recognize the need to come to terms with race and its impact on us today.
Continuing to ignore and whitewash Black history, as Youngkin has done, only delays our ability to deal with the very real issues of race in society.
GUEST COLUMN: Celebrating Black Stories at the Fredericksburg Area Museum
by Gaila Sims, curator of African American History as the Fredericksburg Area Museum
At the Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM), we celebrate Black history and Black people every day of the year as part of our ongoing, permanent initiative Voices Strong, Voices True: Our Untold Stories. As the Curator of African American History and Special Projects at the FAM, all my projects fall under Voices Strong, Voices True, and the whole museum is committed to showcasing voices and stories that have historically been silenced, dismissed, and underappreciated across the region’s landscape. African American history is an integral part of our region’s fabric, and we continually offer exhibitions, programming, and interpretation honoring this important history.
While our commitment is year-round, Black History Month offers a wonderful opportunity to concentrate even more intentionally on the unique stories and contributions of African and African-descended people. Created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Black History Month was originally “Negro History Week,” an opportunity to celebrate the incredible achievements of African American people. Woodson was actually born here in Virginia to formerly enslaved parents, and became the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University in 1912. I cannot recommend his 1933 book The Mis-Education of the Negro enough: it remains an essential tome on the importance of Black education and the inclusion of Black history in the American educational system. Woodson chose February to recognize the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
The FAM is closed in January and February for the installation of three new exhibits. However, we are still offering several programs in celebration of Black History Month this year.
On Saturday, February 11th at 11 a.m. and Sunday, February 26th at 1:30 p.m., I will lead free, public presentations on A Monumental Weight: The Auction Block in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Presentations will take place on the first floor, in the Auction Block gallery. Attendees will learn about the Block’s history in downtown Fredericksburg, the community conversations leading to the Block’s relocation in 2020, and the development of both the physical and virtual exhibitions. No RSVP is needed, but we do ask that attendees enter at the William Street entrance to the museum.
On Tuesday, February 7th from 6-7 p.m., I will be speaking at the Fredericksburg Food Co-op. This lecture, entitled “Singular People, Singular Stories: Black History in Fredericksburg, Virginia,” will include stories from the eighteenth into the twentieth century, sharing the unique contributions of local African American people in the development of our shared community, with plenty of time for questions. The Fredericksburg Food Co-op is offering several free events in honor of Black History Month this February, including author events with M.J. O’Brien on his book We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired on February 1st at 6 p.m. and Andre Gatling on his children’s book Penelope’s Bully on February 11th at 3 p.m. For more on these events, visit Events - Fredericksburg Food Cooperative (fxbgfood.coop).
As part of their Community Conversations Speaker Series, Germanna Community College has scheduled two free educational events in the month of February. I will be speaking virtually on Thursday, February 23rd at 7 p.m. This lecture, “A Singular Community: African American History in Fredericksburg,” will highlight the influence that local African Americans had in the development of the city of Fredericksburg, including political, social, religious, and commercial contributions. In addition to this event, Germanna will host Dr. Frank Harris, professor and co-director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab at San Diego State University, on Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m. Dr. Harris will “outline the barriers that impacted equity minded student services practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and where we are now. Within this context, he will discuss strategies for infusing equity minded and culturally affirming practices into virtual student support services and examine new ways for student services to work together in a post-pandemic environment.” For more on the Community Conversation Speaker Series, visit Community Conversations | Germanna Community College.
Finally, the Black History Month event for which I am perhaps most excited: Black Businesses & Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787 – Present. The FAM has partnered with the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI) to offer a brand-new walking tour featuring stories of African American business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Fredericksburg’s history. As a newcomer to this region, it was immediately clear to me how much Fredericksburg embodies larger trends in American history: enslavement, segregation, agriculture, industrialization, and gentrification, among many others. But as I delved into the research, I really wanted to think about what makes Fredericksburg unique, what makes Fredericksburg stand out amongst small cities across the state and country.
I discovered that Fredericksburg has a documented history of Black businesses and entrepreneurship starting in the eighteenth century. The fact that this tour encompasses 235 years of history is astounding, and speaks to the incredible creativity, tenacity, and ingenuity of African American members of the Fredericksburg community. The tour will commence in 1787 with John DeBaptiste and the establishment of French John’s Wharf, continue with industrious builder Henry Deane and the development of Liberty Town following the Civil War, touch on thriving Black businesses on Princess Anne Street in the mid-twentieth century, and culminate with contemporary favorites scattered across the city. Grounded in historical documentation, archival research, and individual stories, this walking tour will explore Fredericksburg’s unique contributions to the history of Black enterprise.
Tickets for Black Businesses & Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787 – Present are available on the FAM’s website. We hope to see you there!
On March 1st, the FAM will open a new exhibition entitled Seen: Viewing the Work of African American Artists of Fredericksburg. Seen focuses on the art of African American artists of Fredericksburg and the stories they tell through their work. While we are excited about our Black History Month offerings, we acknowledge that Black history does not end on February 28th. We look forward to continuing to celebrate African American people and stories in our community with Seen and in all of our work throughout 2023 and beyond.
GREAT LIVES: Coming Thursday
The next Great Lives lecture will be Thursday night, and will be about Gladys West. A native Virginian and technology innovator, West is responsible for the technology we hold in the palm of our hands and count on to get most anywhere.
Tomorrow’s issue will feature a write-up about West, and those bringing the lecture.