Virginia

Virginia Civil Rights Memorial

27 November 2019

We spent two weeks in Virginia; we needed two months! We didn’t even attempt to see the coast or any of the Revolutionary War or Civil War sights – that will have to wait for another trip. Instead, we limited ourselves to Richmond, Charlottesville, Shenandoah National Park, and points southwest on our way to Tennessee. The weather hampered our plans as well when a massive cold front with record low temperatures descended on the east during the second week of November, so a trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway was abandoned in favor of the interstate. Nevertheless, we got a good feel for the enigma that is Virginia.

Here is a state that is the birthplace of eight US Presidents, four of the first five, including the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Yet it was the juxtaposition of that idealism against the backdrop of slavery that most intrigued us. Primed by previous visits to Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry, and the African American History museum in Washington D.C., we were assaulted by the reality of Virginia’s immersion in the politics and economics of racism, past and present.

Robert E. Lee Memorial

Arthur Ashe Memorial

As noted in my last blog, we stayed in the driveway of the minister of the Richmond UU Church, a friend from Lew’s time serving on the UUA Board of Trustees. The primary social action focus of her church is anti-racism, which seemed totally appropriate to us given the legacy of slavery in Virginia, and the south. But it was not only here that we confronted that legacy. On Monument Avenue – a National Historic District, renowned for its residential architecture – at each intersection we encountered large statues on huge pedestals commemorating selected Confederate Civil War heroes, including Robert E. Lee, Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis. Although these monuments were erected during the reactionary Jim Crow period (late 19^th, early 20^th century), they are still a stark reminder of the vestiges of white supremacy that even a smaller monument to tennis star, Arthur Ashe, at the end of the Avenue cannot erase. 400 years of slavery, thousands of lives lost in a war to protect that institution, years of continual inhumane treatment, degradation, and exclusion of Black Americans…and, still, we glorify those people who proudly represent the foundation of a white supremacist culture. It was a heady experience. 

 Lew was most affected by the realization that the institution of slavery and the economies of both the north and the south were intimately intertwined before the civil war. Complain as they might about slavery,  many smug northerners were getting rich off the institution in the early 1800s. They may not have owned slaves themselves, but they clearly benefited from cheap raw materials for their factories. This is the legacy faced by many northerners.

Monticello

Montpelier

What we saw in Richmond, however, was only the beginning. Our next stop was Charlottesville and the homes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Here the paradox of words vs deeds was even more pronounced and it is a credit to the National Park Service and the respective Presidential Foundations that the slavery question is no longer glossed over. Monticello, as we remembered from our first visits some 50+ years ago, is inspiring. I don’t tire of being reminded of the words of the Declaration of Independence penned by Thomas Jefferson: a beautiful and thought-provoking place. Thought provoking, not only about the meaning of those prophetic words and their relevance today, but also about Jefferson’s slave owning legacy. We took a guided tour of Jefferson’s home AND one of the slave quarters, complete with stories and descriptions of REAL people who happened to be slaves at Monticello.

Slave Quarters Montpelier

The slave experience was personalized; in one case our guide described the differing experiences of two boys on the plantation – one, white, who grew up to become the President of the United States, and the other, black, who remained a slave the rest of his life. The story of the Hemings family (including Sally Hemings and her children by Jefferson) was also an important part of the history. What was NOT a part of the history was the story of the “field slaves” who shall always remain nameless. Only those who were house slaves or skilled laborers have names and histories attached – and even that information has taken a great deal of time and research to uncover.

On a plantation a day’s horseback ride away (1 hour by car) was the home of James Madison – Montpelier. There the foundation has done an even better job of sharing the legacy of slavery that haunts Madison like it does Jefferson. It’s the great American disconnect – a country founded on the principles of liberty and equality, but built on the backs of human property! Like Jefferson, Madison was aware of this contradiction, but political expediency prevailed. One display at Montpelier does an excellent job of pointing out the sections of the Constitution that are at odds with the founding
principles. In another the lives of several slave families and their descendants are profiled. Archaeologists have uncovered a great many artifacts that have helped to piece together the lives of the enslaved people who lived at Montpelier and much of it is shared with the visitor. Again, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the genius of Madison - a genius whose ideas helped to shape this nation - and, at the same time, perplexed and saddened by the inhumanity of slavery. I’m aware that it was the nature of the times (equality didn’t seem to apply to Blacks, Native Americans, women, the poor, etc) and times have changed – or have they? The attempt to deny men, women, and children their basic humanity still resonates with us today and is the root of many of our societal problems.

1940s NP Sign

Shenandoah NP

Besides visiting a few of the nearby wineries (yes, there are wineries here, too), our next stop was Shenandoah National Park, where we managed to take a couple of hikes and enjoy what was left of the fall colors despite the unusually cold weather. But even here, the legacy of the southern attitude toward racial segregation was surprisingly apparent. When the park was transferred from Jim Crow Virginia to the federal government, Virginia attempted to ban blacks from the park, but settled for segregation. The early private facilities were for whites only and remained so when the area officially became a national park in 1937; eventually a separate (inferior) campground, lodge, and picnic area for blacks was created in 1939. Not until 1950 were the park’s facilities fully integrated. I found this astonishing.

UVA Rotunda

Before leaving the Charlottesville area, we toured what Jefferson called one of his greatest achievements – the University of Virginia – which he designed and founded with a library, not a church, at the center of the school. Yet, once again, we were invited to think about the contradictions of that time. Slavery was central to the project of designing, building, funding, and maintaining the University. White students, we learned, routinely abused the slaves who catered to their needs and no one intervened. Two centuries later (in April, 2020), UVA plans to dedicate a memorial to the enslaved laborers (estimated at perhaps 5,000) who built and sustained the University - a place to reflect, acknowledge, and honor those individuals. This is Progress.

D-Day Memorial, Flags of Allied Militaries

National D-Day Memorial

Heading southwest on the interstate, to avoid ice and closures on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped near Roanoke to visit two more interesting historical sites. One was the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va (chosen because that town lost more men, per capita, during the invasion than any other). Like the monuments in D.C. honoring the victims of war, this one was sobering, reminding us once again of the sacrifice that many have made to protect the freedoms we enjoy in this country. Or that some of us have enjoyed, because the next visit was to the Booker T Washington National Historic Park.

Booker T. Washington NM

Born a slave, just prior to the start of the Civil War, and going on to become one of the most influential Black leaders of his time, his story is one of hope and perseverance. He thirsted for knowledge and once slavery was abolished, he was able to satisfy his craving and go on to educate other men and women of his race. It was a difficult journey. His story saddens me, however, because I am reminded of all the brain power lost because slaves were denied the right to read and learn. What was not invented? What ideas were never heard? What books remained unwritten? This is our Shame.

So our brief sojourn in the south has been an interesting one, giving us pause and time to reflect.  If Virginia is like other southern states, a concerted effort is being made here to acknowledge the past and recognize the injustices while still honoring the great contributions of people like Jefferson and Madison and Washington. How can we in the 21^st century undo a legacy of white privledge that has been around for more than four centuries? How can we truly live into the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?

Why travel?

 Nov 16, 2019

            

Jean, Lew and Regina

 

 Our first stop after leaving D.C. was Richmond, VA, where we parked the RV in our friend’s driveway. Instead of rushing from museum to museum, we were happy to be able to sit back and talk with our friends (three different ones, as it turns out, over the span of four days). In our conversations with The Rev. Jean Pupke (where we stayed), she asked us some penetrating questions, one of which precipitated this blog post. Why do we travel? Is it to see other cultures, experience new places, see friends, be challenged, be amazed? She asked this about an upcoming trip to New Zealand/Australia, but it got me thinking about THIS trip. Why are we spending 19 months in a 33 ft motorhome, never in one place very long, braving the elements, enduring the inconveniences? Why, indeed?! I can think of six good reasons:

TIMING

Going full time in our RV has long been a dream of ours and in 2018, the stars aligned. My mother had died in 2016, so I was no longer her caregiver. Sandi and her family were leaving in June on what was to be a 4-year sailing adventure, to Mexico for 18 months and then on to Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia. I was no longer needed on that front either. Alas, there was nothing holding us in Anacortes; the timing was good, our health was good (well, except for Lew’s prostate cancer surgery 10 days before we were scheduled to leave), we were still young enough to hike and manage the rigors of travel, and the country was calling. Do we need other reasons to travel?

FRIENDS

Yes!  Friends, relatives, and acquaintances were also calling. We wanted to see people we never, or almost never, got to see. This part of the adventure has been particularly satisfying. All in all, we have visited with people in 25 different locations throughout the country (and even in Mexico and Canada!) Sometimes our stays have been long: 3 weeks in the St. Louis area this spring with Lew’s best friend from college (and our best friends for years) (and seeing them this Thanksgiving on our way back west); 2 months in and out of my brother’s house in New Hampshire this summer/fall; 

Lew, Bonnie, Serafin and Mike in Wilton, NH

 1 week at an old high school friend’s home in Wisconsin; 1 week in Tucson to spend time with my old tennis partner from Panama City, FL days; and 4 1/2 weeks in Salt Lake City to be near daughter, Erin, and her family last November and another 5-6 weeks this winter over Christmas. It was especially nice to be able to spend more time with Erin since it is harder now that we have moved to Washington.

 Some visits were brief, but meaningful – like spending time with two college acquaintances in Connecticut – folks I had reconnected with at my 50^th reunion in May – whom I now feel closer to than I ever did in college, thanks to 3 wonderful days together this fall.

Doug, Julia and us in Connecticut

Reuniting with Karen and Harvey Joyner

Or how strange was it to run into a friend and past UU minister from our days in Colorado while attending a service at the UU Church in Richmond, VA? What a gift to see Harvey and Karen after what must have been at least 15 years and to spend a few hours contemplating the trajectory of our lives since we last connected.








Or the afternoon we spent in St. George, UT with one of my mom’s last surviving friends from Junior High, driving out to see one of her beloved red rock parks and treating her to lunch out. For me, it was an important connection to my past.

We have stopped to see folks we haven’t seen in 30-40 years and people we’ve met along a trail and have barely known. We’ve visited with friends from elementary, Jr and Sr High school, with relatives in Portland, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, New Hampshire, and Virginia, and with people from Colorado Springs who hold a special place in our hearts. Yes, visiting people, connecting, re-connecting has been a very important reason for this trip.  The museums and sights we see are great, but it’s the people that make it all worthwhile.

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES

                One goal we set for ourselves was to visit the rest of the Presidential libraries (we’d already seen the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter and Clinton museums). For us it has been an opportunity to learn more about the times in which they served, more about the character of the man himself, and to assess or reassess the nature of that Presidency. With only the Hoover and Reagan libraries left on the agenda for the remainder of this trip, we have definitely fulfilled this objective. We have seen the LBJ, Bush and Bush libraries/museums in Texas, the Lincoln museum in Illinois, FDR’s library in New York, Ford’s in Michigan, and Nixon’s in California. And, though officially not “Presidential Libraries” we have seen museums dedicated to the presidencies of Garfield and Wilson. We walked away from all these libraries with (often) unexpected respect for the individual and what he was trying to accomplish in his presidency (even when we disagreed with his politics). These visits have served as great history lessons.

NATIONAL PARKS

Another goal of ours has been to visit as many National Parks as we can – hoping to see those we’d missed in the past, especially those in the "other half" of the country! By National Parks, I had in mind places like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Tetons – areas of pristine beauty, wilderness, serenity, peace. And we have gone to those – Big Bend NP in Texas, for instance, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, or Death Valley NP in California. All beautiful in their grandeur and vastness, with miles of hiking trails and opportunities to breathe deeply. Others, like the Redwoods, just take your breath away.

What we weren’t as prepared for were the “other” national parks – the ones in the middle of Urban corridors, the historic parks that celebrate something other than nature, the ones that give us a glimpse into our history (and, thus, into ourselves). These, too, are administered by the National Park Service.  The NPS has preserved pieces of history and culture: persons, events and activities that show us who we were and who we are. There are so many National Historic Parks, so much to learn about, absorb, and appreciate. We’ve barely begun that process in visiting the following: Lowell, MA (the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America), the Shenandoah Valley, Chaco Canyon, the Cuyahoga Valley, the Dayton Aviation Heritage Park, Harper’s Ferry, Lewis and Clark, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, New Bedford Whaling, Gettysburg, Women’s Rights, Eleanor Roosevelt, First Ladies, Fort Ticonderoga, Golden Spike, Knife River Indian Villages, Saint-Gauden’s, and the Booker T Washington National Historic Park.

There are also many National Monuments which celebrate places of national significance – including outstanding geologic features, seashores, and places of historic importance. We have visited only a few: Aztec Ruins, Canyon De Chelly, Casa Grande, Chiracahua, Fort Union, Grand Portage, White Sands, Coronado. 

We are so thankful that so many people had the foresight to see the need for these places and events to be preserved and maintained for all Americans to enjoy, learn from, and appreciate. It is to their hard work and perseverance that we owe our gratitude. Which leads me to the next reason for taking this trip…

HISTORY LESSONS                                                                 

            We wanted a hands-on history lesson – we’ve certainly gotten more than we bargained for and we’ve barely scratched the surface! Everywhere you turn as you drive through the country there’s some interesting history to discover. Small towns, big cities – they all have their local heroes, their disasters and triumphs, their ups and downs. Traveling across the country you can drink it all in – or choose what you drink because there is just too much! Some history resonates with us more strongly, some challenges us, some disgusts us. Much of it makes us think: about who we are, what is important,  the role that luck plays in history, the meaning of progress, poverty in a rich nation, man’s inhumanity to man, rights (and wrongs), and so many other unanswered questions. All of it, all the history of this country, is part of us today – Native American history, the American revolution, the industrial revolution, westward expansion, slavery, civil war, world wars, civil rights protests, presidential successes and failures – it is all a part of us, of what makes this country (and by extension, you and me) what it is today.

We will need some time to digest all we’ve seen and read about and heard on this trip. For me, it’s the stories of real people who have made history come alive. It has become personal. How lucky we’ve been to have soaked up just a tiny bit of that history on our travels.

TO SEE THE COUNTRY

So this brings me to my 6^th, and final, reason for wanting to take this trip. We wanted to see the country. We’ve lived and traveled in Europe, we’ve seen some parts of the United States, but we hungered for more. We live in an amazing country, geographically diverse, religiously diverse, ethnically diverse, politically diverse, and, yet, the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. I have particularly enjoyed seeing the Midwest – those fly-over states to which we on the coasts pay little attention. Although I love where we live, I can readily see why people like living in Iowa, or Wisconsin, or Michigan, or Missouri. All the states we have visited have their own beauty – not the same as what I’m used to, but beautiful, nonetheless. I see why people rave about the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley, how someone can love the hustle and bustle of a big city or the serenity of New England. I have especially appreciated the fact that wineries can now be found in all 50 states – and some of it, from places you never would have expected, is quite good! I’ve loved tasting maple syrup in Vermont and apple butter in Pennsylvania.

Each state, each experience, has given us a new and different perspective on our lives and on what it is like in other parts of the country. Every state is different and it’s that difference that makes it so interesting and has made this trip so fulfilling. If the ultimate goal of travel is to be changed – then this trip has been a great success. Our understanding about so much has increased; our perspectives have grown and changed; our appreciation has expanded; and our gratitude overflows. As Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to Prejudice."

Billings-March-Rockefeller National Historic Park