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The nation's "No. 1 Economic Problem" in 1938 was stated to be the South. To address this issue, President Roosevelt's administration created the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) as part of its New Deal efforts. It's first session, as reported by the Charlottesville Progress and republished in the Northern Virginia Daily, happened in Birmingham with "a wrangle over endorsement of Federal anti-lynching legislation and condemnation of laws segregating whites and Negroes in Southern cities" and passing "resolutions asking freight rate parity for the South, urging elimination of poll taxes, seeking public defenders for indignation of poll taxes (and) indignets in court, ... and seeking uniform registration requirements for voters" (Vol 56, No. 279, 30 November 1938, p.4).
Lynching, a practice of killing an individual outside of legal proceedings and often due to misplaced anger or biased beliefs of wrongdoing even when there is no definitive evidence of such, is an extremely important topic. In a majority of cases, persons conducting such crimes were never sentenced. Racial terror was one of the goals of the KKK, as they promoted white supremacy in the South; thus, lynching is often associated with this hate group; however, they did not always occur by the Ku Klux Klan. From the 1880s to 1970, approximately 4,750 lynchings occured in the United States - for more information, read History of Lynching in America. At present no known cases of lynching occurred in Shenandoah County, although they did happen in surrounding counties. As such, and for the purposes of focusing on county-relevant topics, I'm not addressing lynching in this series of letters. That said, as we have already seen in many previous posts, violence, intimidation, and animosity were often employed in Shenandoah County, Virginia, against African Americans, even if not always reported (see especially, Week 31: Rachel, Lashed to Death, Week 33: Bitter Prejudice, Week 34: Need for Radical Change, Week 35: Community, Week 36: Are We Compassionate?, Week 37: Prejudicial to our Race, Week 41: Self-Preservation). Today's post focuses on poll taxes and segregation, particularly as they impacted a cycle of reaffirming racial inequality and privileging Confederate history in our public spaces. In Shenandoah County, Virginia, the Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser from 1903 explained the voting registration process at that time: "Any one can register who is a veteran, or a son of a veteran, or who last year paid a State property tax of $1, or is 'able to read any section of the Constitution submitted to him by the officers of registration and to give a reasonable explanation of the same; or, if unable to read such section, able to understand and give a reasonable explanation thereof when read to him by the officers... the questions put under the understanding clause were extremely reasonable, and were readily answered by men of ordinary intelligence... Beginning with 1904, it will be requisite that he who offers for registration shall have paid the poll tax assessed against him for the three years preceding the election, and this payment must be made six months prior to the election" (Vol 10, No 46, 3 September 1903, p. 2). The April 28, 1911 issue of Shenandoah Herald notes: "In order to vote at the... November election the poll tax must be paid on or before Saturday, May 6" (Vol 94, No 17, 28 April 1911, p.2). In 1903, the poll tax was $1.50, which would be the same worth as approximately $52 in 2023 - with one dollar going to the public schools and fifty cents to the locality on every capitation tax paid. "Delinquency in making poll tax payments constitutes a misdemeanor," according to a 1939 issue of the Northern Virginia Daily; and, "section 128 of the state tax code... requires payment of the poll tax as a prerequisite to obtaining any state or local license, permit or authorization except a marriage license" (Vol. 57, No. 55, 6 March 1939, p. 1). Poll taxes and literacy tests were two methods used to disenfranchise and weed out voters who were poorer citizens, a large majority of whom were African American at the time. The poll tax was not abolished for use as a precondition to voting in federal elections until the passage of the 24th Amendment in 1964, and until 1966, after the Supreme Court case Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections found poll taxes to be unconstitutional in state elections, as well. One aspect of the poll tax often overlooked is that Confederate soldiers in Virginia were not required to pay it. By section 22 of the Constitution all soldiers who served in the war between the States are exempted from the payment of any poll tax as a pre-requisite to the right to vote" (Strasburg News, No 52, 15 May 1903, p. 1). A constitutional amendment adopted by the general assembly of Virginia also permitted "Confederate widows to vote without paying a poll tax" (Strasburg News, Vol. 44, No 22, 18 March 1926, p.1). This isn't the only time Confederate soldiers were favored in state or county decisions. "At a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors held in the court house on Wednesday, May 11, 1921... by unanimous consent it is hereby ordered that the Shenandoah Camp of Confederate Veterans be permitted to hold their meetings in the jury room in the Court House. The Shenandoah Camp realizing that this Association will soon be dissolved by the death of the members, passed a resolution requesting the Board of Supervisors to care for and to pass on to future generations the valuable records in their possession, when the Camp shall cease to exist. RESOLVED: That we, the representatives of the County, accept this trust" (Supervisor Minutes 1920-39, p.25-26). In 1926, Confederate pension checks represented "a total of $248,841.25, the greatest quarterly payment of Confederate pensions ever made in the history of the state" of Virginia (Strasburg News, Vol. 44, No 46, 10 June 1926, p.1). In addition, "out of the total $1,000,000 per year appropriated for Confederate pensions... $11,000 shall be expended for relief of needy Confederate women, who are not on the state pension roster, and who are not inmates of any Confederate, independent or church home or charitable institution." Then, on August 12, 1935, the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors "ordered to appropriate the sum of $50.00 for each Confederate Veteran that intends to attend the Confederate Veteran Reunion to be held in Texas, Sept. 3 to Sept. 6, 1935" (Supervisor Minutes 1920-39, p.438). On top of the excessive funds given to aid Confederate veterans and their widows - which far outweighed anything Reconstruction efforts did to help formerly enslaved African American families that were comparatively neglected - memorial associations popped up across the South to honor aging Confederate veterans and burial grounds for soldiers. "The Ladies' Memorial Association of Mount Jackson, Shenandoah county, Va., has issued the following address: Our Soldiers' Cemetery near Mount Jackson... is the final resting place of nearly 500 soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia. Their prowess is known, because they followed the plumes of Beauregard, Johnston, Longstreet, Rhodes, Ashby, Gordon, Hill, Stewart, Ewell, Hampton, Jackson, Lee. The government to which they gave their allegiance, which they loved so loyally and so grandly defended, is no more, and the Confederate flag is furled forever... The Southern Confederacy and the causes which produced it went down with the remnant of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, and henceforth lives only as a memory. Veterans, brave men of both armies, are reunited in one great American brotherhood, one citizenship, vieing with each other in the pursuits of peace and the promotion of the welfare of our reunited country - a union sealed with the blood of the best of both armies. To these survivors, Grand Army Posts, Confederate veterans, the Order of United Confederate Veterans, and a magnanimous and generous people, we appeal for liberal assistance in behalf of the Ladies' Memorial Association... Aided by, and dependent upon, the contributions of friends, North and South, they undertake the erection of a suitable granite memorial to perpetuate the memory of brave men who vouched for their country with their lives" (Our Church Paper, Vol. 23, No. 20, 15 May 1895, published in New Market, Va, p.4). Another name for this group was the Ladies' Memorial Society of the Lost Cause (Our Church Paper, Vol. 26, No 34, 24 August 1898). After a decade, the fruition of their fundraising was revealed: "Thursday, June 4, 1903, a handsome monument, surmounted by a figure of a Confederate soldier, was unveiled at Mt. Jackson, Shenandoah county, Va., under the auspices of the Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, No. 133, of that place. The following is a list of the 350 Confederate soldiers - except the 112 unknown - buried in 'Our Soldiers Cemetery' at Mt Jackson, who, with possibly a very few exceptions, died at the hospital in that place from 1861 to 1865" (Our Church Paper, Volume 31, No. 23, 10 June 1903, p.4). The article continues, sharing the names of 43 men from Virginia, 82 men from North Carolina, 33 men from Alabama, 48 men from Georgia, and 19 men from South Carolina, as well as several from Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and other unidentified states. The News Leader provides the following account: "The unveiling of the Confederate monument at Mount Jackson this morning at 11 o'clock attracted a large crowd, which came from all parts of the Valley of Virginia and adjoining counties. The monument was erected to 'All Confederate Soldiers' by the ladies of the Mt Jackson Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Ladies' Memorial Society. The money was raised after ten years' work on the part of these noble women. In 1893 the first subscription was taken for this purpose. The sum was gradually increased until $1,500 was raised, and the contract for the memorial made. The monument is located in 'Our Soldiers' cemetery' one mile north of Mt. Jackson, and on the west side of the Valley turnpike. It faces the highway. Our Soldiers' cemetery contains the graves of about 350 Confederate dead" (Vol 4, No 218, 4 June 1903, p.10). The Department of Historic Resources erected a highway marker (A-65) in 1997. According to the marker, the cemetery was originally dedicated on May 10, 1866, on the third anniversary of Stonewall Jackson's death and constituted one of the first Confederate memorial services in the South. The burial grounds had served a Confederate hospital, which consisted of three two-story buildings, established on September 15, 1861. In 1865, the hospital was torn down; federal forces erected a village on Rude's Hill that was used during Reconstruction. Those buildings were subsequently removed in 1875. It's important to note that throughout this time period, an African American burial ground was located across the railroad tracks, directly west of the Confederate cemetery. One hundred and thirty-eight years after the dedication of the Confederate cemetery, the Mt Jackson Colored Cemeteryreceived a memorial marker due to the efforts of African American citizens, a Boy Scout troop from another county, and the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project, a local non-profit committed to promoting the history of African Americans in the Shenandoah Valley. The point is that Virginia laws and county practices were consistently privileging Confederate soldiers, while ignoring burial grounds and memorials for formerly enslaved African Americans and not providing the same benefits for what they experienced as a result of the hardships our community inflicted upon them. On top of this, segregation was consistently pushed in our community. While the contention was that separate was equal, it really wasn't. For example, in 1938, white teachers were paid an annual salary of $617, "and $394 for Negro teachers" (Northern Virginia Daily, Volume 56, Number 220, 21 September 1938 p 4). Such inconsistencies pervaded our social and economic standards. In an article from the 1939 Northern Virginia Daily, a representative of the U.S. Department of Labor shared at an annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that "the 'determining characteristics of the race problem' have always been 'economic in origin'... (and that) racial animosity... has been caused by the feeling that the Negro may become 'a dangerous competitor' for the white man's job" (Volume 57, Number 154, 29 June 1939, p1). The article concludes: "the Negro can be just as efficient as the white worker and that there can be no justification in the long run for the argument that the Negro should be paid less because he is less efficient." Shenandoah Stories also shares an example of this at Liberty Furnace, where a mob attacked owners of the furnace and African American workers in January 1880. The only way the riot would end was with the owners' promise to only hire white workers. Thus, the economic problem was one of segregating equality. Of setting standards that didn't provide equitable outcomes for all citizens, usually according to race distinctions. After World War II, a collaboration committee consisting of 33 white and 33 African American leaders from southern states met to analyze the principal issues related to race relations. Their report stated, "The war has sharpened the issue of negro-white relations in the United States, and particularly in the south... A result has been increased racial tensions, fears and aggressions, and an opening up of the basic questions of racial segregation and discrimination, negro minority rights, and democratic freedom, as they apply practically in negro-white relations in the south" (Northern Virginia Daily, Vol 61, No 183, 29 June 1943, p.1) This report had been shared six months earlier, too, with the warning that "these issues... have become acute and threaten to become more so as they increasingly block a 'common sense consideration' for improvement in the Negro's status" (Northern Virginia Daily, Vol 60, No 296, 15 December 1942, p.4). "The Negro's situation admittedly is difficult and unpleasant," the article shared, "and in many cases he is the victim of gross injustice. There is always a race problem where two widely different races, such as the Negro and Caucasian races, live together and mingle daily in the same country. This problem has never been satisfactorily solved. Racial prejudices and antagonisms are hard to control, and will manifest themselves in many ways, despite the efforts of well-intentioned leaders in both races to keep them down. The root of the problem does not lie with the cultured Negroes... nor with the cultured white people. These could get along together somehow. It is the rough, uncultured, arrogant element in both races that make the problem. "But the problem is there, and it is a difficult problem to deal with. It cannot be solved by passing laws. It cannot be solved by any sort of coercion. It lies deeper than the surface of things. The nearest approach to a solution is the one that has been followed almost instinctively - that of segregation. This is not an expedient to humiliate the Negro or to exalt the white race. It is a simple recognition of the fact that where the coalescence of two races seems impossible, segregation offers the best means of preserving harmonious relations. Yet segregation lies at the root of most of the 'issues' outlined in the statement referred to above. If segregation were abolished, the race problem would be more than acute. It would be critical" (Northern Virginia Daily, Vol 60, No 296, 15 December 1942, p.4). Such gatherings were not new to the United States. A Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC) had been founded in Atlanta, Georgia, and in collaboration with other Southern states, in 1919. It grew out of efforts to lessen racial tensions from various organizations, including the Atlanta Christian Council and the YMCA War Work Council. In 1944, the CIC merged with the Southern Regional Council "to oppose lynching, mob violence, and peonage and to educate white southerners concerning the worst aspects of racial abuse" (Pullen, A.E, "Commission on Interracial Cooperation" in New Georgia Encyclopiedia, 2021). Unfortunately, the CIC did not address segregation, but worked to appease African Americans by providing race-specific schools and other ways of co-existing, separately, in order to prevent adverse outcomes, like race riots. One of the key leaders of this organization was Harry Byrd Sr, who was a Winchester native and Virginia's governor from 1926-1930 and a state senator from 1933-1965. Due to his preferential position on racial segregation, Byrd supported poll taxes and literacy tests throughout our state, which limited votes from minority groups, especially African Americans, and poor whites. And as we will see in the coming weeks, the Byrd administration led a Massive Resistance campaign to oppose the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. Perusing state records, newspapers, and county minute books, "the race problem" was a consistent presence either by promoting decisions that privileged the perspective of wealthier Caucasian citizens and landowners, largely because our leaders were predominantly wealthier Caucasian landowners, or in upholding the purported solution to the race problem in Virginia's eyes: segregation. To my knowledge, neither the Board of Supervisors nor the School Board for Shenandoah County, Va, has ever had an African American appointed to its leadership positions - an important thing to consider when we discuss how to promote equality in our communities. Without representative leadership, "common sense consideration" isn't going to happen, unless leaders commit to inclusivity. In an article from 2020, "The Key to Inclusive Leadership," Harvard Business Review shares six signature traits for this: - "Visible commitment: They articulate authentic commitment to diversity, challenge the status quo, hold others accountable, and make diversity and inclusion a personal priority... - "Humility: They are modest about capabilities, admit mistakes, and create the space for others to contribute... - "Awareness of bias: They show awareness of personal blind spots, as well as flaws in the system, and work hard to ensure a meritocracy... - "Curiosity about others: They demonstrate an open mindset and deep curiosity about others, listen without judgment, and seek with empathy to understand those around them... - "Cultural intelligence: They are attentive to others' cultures and adapt as required..." and, - "Effective collaboration: They empower others, pay attention to diversity of thinking and psychological safety, and focus on team cohesion" (Bourke & Titus, 2020). These traits were very much missing among many of the leaders in our community in the 19th and early 20th centuries; hence: segregation. To understand the issue of segregation, we have to consider one of the most widely known court decisions up to that time period in making decisions on segregated public educational principles - and it wasn't even in relation to education. Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537, 18 May 1896) was a Supreme Court decision with the renowned outcome of "separate but equal" facilities for the two races. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, who was a man of mixed race defined in American 19th century society as an octoroon or being 7/8 white, had intentionally boarded a New Orleans, Louisiana, train car designated as whites-only and destined for Covington. According to the state legislature, this violated their 1890 Separate Car Act; thus Plessy was arrested. Plessy believed the separate train cars were unconstitutional and violated his 14th Amendment rights as a U.S. citizen. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling against Plessy and in favor of the judge that presided over the case, John Ferguson. Even in Virginia, the law surrounding racial segregation on motor buses made it "a misdemeanor when any person 'fails to occupy the seat assigned to him by the driver, pursuant to any lawful rule, regulation or custom in force by such lines as to the assignment of separate seats to white and colored persons' "(Northern Virginia Daily, Vol 64, No 132, 4 June 1946, p.1). Into the 20th century, Plessy v. Ferguson laid the framework for segregation in all sectors of public spaces, including schools, bathrooms, water fountains, and even setting a precedence for separating times of the day for appointments or vaccinations, separate newspaper sections highlighting "Colored News," parts of a neighborhood in which African Americans could live, entrances and seating areas in theaters or churches or places of business, who didn't always allow African Americans to enter their businesses or even stand in front of them, as was the case in Mt Jackson from time to time. Social sensitivities in Virginia favored segregation in the public schools, too. A 1930 article, "The South's Problem," in the Strasburg News reviews the impact of a school law that once incorporated the definition of Negro as "any person who has one-sixteenth Negro blood" (Vol. 48, No 5, 31 January 1930, p.2). "The announcement that Negroes and white children are attending the same school, playing the same games together, sitting in the same room and frequently sharing the same desk in Essex county has been variously characterized as 'tragic,' 'deplorable,' and 'shocking' ... begins the article, which continues: "far more deplorable than the fact that black and white pupils attend the same school together is the fact that in one of the schools visited... 'only one person would have impressed the casual observer as unquestionably Negroid' .... the problem of the South is one of keeping the black race black.... In justice to each race, a law should be enacted which will effect segregation complete and absolute" (Vol. 48, No 5, 31 January 1930, p.2). As we have already seen in a previous post (Week 42: Education Without Heart), there were separate primary schools for the two races in Shenandoah County, Va at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Shenandoah County School Board minutes, housed in the Shenandoah County Public Schools' Central Office, begin in the 1930s with a more county-focused school board presence. With calls from the community for larger facilities, smaller one-roomed schoolhouses were no longer an adequate way to provide educational services to the children in our communities. The Shenandoah County Historical Society and Shenandoah Stories through our public library system share several perspectives that can elucidate more on the history of public educational facilities and provisions; my focus is on the impact of our communities' decisions on African American and minority groups, especially as they relate to public education. Over the next few weeks, we will examine the Shenandoah County School Board minutes and the state of Virginia's Pupil Placement Board records that capitulate some of this multifaceted impact. Bernard DeVoto, an early 20th century American professor and writer, held the following view: "Democracy is not a word. It is your home town, the people who live there, their habits and associations, their decencies and beliefs and kindliness and courage and resolution." If we pause and really consider how to make the best decisions not for blacks, not for whites, but for Americans, what would we name our towns, our roads, our schools - all the public spaces that we share, today? We are not making decisions for someone that lived 150 years ago, but for the human beings that make up the living heartbeat of our communities today. We are making decisions for people that live and work, here and now - those who celebrate birthdays and mourn the deaths of close family and friends - all of whom are Americans. How do we find commonality if it is not in the public spaces we share? The names of public schools should not hold subliminal or overt messages of hatred, superiority, fear, ignorant pride, or arrogant defiance. The names of public schools should hold DeVito's image of democracy; and in America, that cannot be done with the names of Confederate leaders, who renounced their claim to democracy and led our communities into a fight for a segregated reality that no longer exists and for the exploitation of people of another race for economic gain.
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During this same time period that citizens of Shenandoah County, Va, were privileging the perspective of its white populace, its leaders were making decisions on behalf of minority groups, and even for women, without their input.
In the upper part of Powell's Fort, or Fort Valley, Honey Run School House ran a Lyceum for young men in the neighborhood. A brief notice in the local paper poses, "The question discussed on Saturday night last, was: Should female education be as thorough as that of males? Discussed and decided in the negative" (Shenandoah Herald, Volume 5, Number 37, 19 May 1870 p3). Each district (see Week 39: The Mask of Defiance for more about the division of Shenandoah County into regions) had a school census enumerator. "These gentlemen will... ascertain the number of children of school age in each district so that correct apportionments of school funds may be made" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 34, 7 June 1900, p3). At the time, these funds largely came from state taxes and beneficiaries in the community. The Sentinel also shares a discussion on how those funds should be apportioned, relaying that "many of the most prominent men in the commonwealth favor... restricting the negroes only to the tax paid by their race in apportioning the school funds of the State" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 46, 30 August 1900 p2). An earlier issue of the local paper shared the cost of schools, as well as information regarding who were paying more for these local schools, in general. "A State official has been collecting some interesting statistics, showing the cost of public schools in Virginia since the inauguration of the system in 1870, with particular reference to the relative amounts paid by whites and blacks for their support. The total cost of the Virginia public schools from 1870 to 1899, inclusive, has been $36,919,186. The white schools cost $25,843,430.20. The negro schools cost $11,075,755.80. Of this the whites paid for their white schools... (and) were taxed for negro schools, $9,192,877.32. The negroes have contributed only $1,882,878.48. The total amount paid by the whites for schools is $35,036,307.52" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 42, 2 August 1900 p1). According to this paper, 70% of the school funds went to support white schools. And yet, in Ashby district of Shenandoah County, Va, 95% of the schools were for white children. A newspaper notice from 1871 states "The School census of Ashby Township has been returned by the clerk of the Board of Trustees. There are between the ages of five and twenty one years, 779 whites and 64 colored" (Shenandoah Herald, Vo 51, No 17, 2 February 1871 p3). During the first year of public education, 7% of the students in one of the districts that would eventually come together to form our southern campus schools were African American. The previous article also points out what isn't being discussed: African Americans did not have the wealth that white families had. They, too, were taxed, but without the same access to competent income and property ownership, their tax portion was massively smaller than their white neighbors. The problem wasn't that African Americans weren't paying their taxes or working hard enough for what they had. The problem was lack of representation in community leadership positions, lack of equal opportunities and equal pay, and lack of inclusion as neighbors. They were still treated as a separate, nearly invisible, inferior social class. In 1901, then Superintendent McInturff shared the appointment of teachers employed in each district. There were 127 total, "of these 123 are white. Lee, Ashby, Davis, and Woodstock each has one negro school" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 9, Number 8, 12 December 1901, p2). Since each district had its own school board then, decisions about school construction and maintenance, teacher hiring and training, and more were made in conjunction with the school authorities. Each board met periodically, with major decisions and teaching assignments often posted in the local papers. For example, "the teachers of the Public Free Schools of Ashby District were assigned as follows at the meetings of the School Board held at Mt. Jackson May 25th and at Conicville September 24th, 1900" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 50, 27 September 1900 p2). The article continues with twenty-one schools listed, as well as the principal for the graded schools and head teacher (for more information on the schools, review Week 40: Free Public Schools). The Mt Jackson colored school is "not definitely appointed" according the article. Teachers often met in district-wide leagues to run professional development trainings, discuss current teaching methods, and more. The Stonewall League of teachers met in New Hope school-house at Jadwyn on the first Saturday in December 1900. "The subjects were: How to teach Fry's Geography, U.S. History in the common schools, Diacritical marks and Spelling in connection with the 'Word Method' of teaching Reading.... clerk of the Stonewall Board of School Trustees also furnished an excellent subject for 'discussion' - an abundance of nice cake and good lemonade which he brought into the school-room for the teachers present. A worthy example - 'Go and do thou likewise.' Stonewall still stands!" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 8, Number 8, 6 December 1900 p2). Even in the 1900s, Stonewall, Ashby, and Lee were soaked into the fabric of our community like growing stains. No one questioned whether or not this was morally good or whether it cultivated a sense of peace among whites and blacks. They just accepted it. And as we saw last week, that acceptance led to more harmful examples in the community by 1925 (see Week 41: Self-Preservation), when the KKK held a Klan day at the county fair to celebrate white supremacy and to initiate some of our own into a cult that doesn't deserve shrines. Ignoring these conversations, privileging one set of ancestors over another's even if they are a majority, harms everyone. Aristotle wrote, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." A sentiment that was shared by Dalai Lama: "When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts" and by Martin Luther King, Jr: "Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." Even Jesus shares a similar teaching: "it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth... what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts..." (Matthew 15:11, 18-19). Invoking the names of Stonewall, Ashby, Lee, and other Confederate generals, no matter what their religious beliefs, in our community in the 21st century, after the historical asperity of minority groups within the same community is not honorable, but oppressive. Elementary through high school should be an experience of levity, joy, and peace. Claiming names of people that fought even to death for the principle of African American inferiority and control is not innocent, joy-filled, or peaceful. It is education without heart. An 1870 issue of Shenandoah Herald holds the firsthand experience of an African American cadet attending West Point - an institute where Thomas Jackson had received a military education almost three decades earlier: "I have been so harassed with... the insults and ill-treatment of these cadets that I could not write or do any thing else scarcely. I passed examination all right and got in... now these fellows appear to be trying their utmost to run me off... We went into camp yesterday, and not a moment has passed since then but some one of them has been cursing me. All night they were around my tent, cursing and swearing at me so that I did not sleep two hours all night. It is just the same thing at the table, and what I get to eat I must snatch for like a dog. I don't wish to resign if I can get along at all; but I don't think it will be best for me to stay and take all the abuses and the insults that are heaped upon me... One of the cadets refused to drill the squad because I was in it... After marching us out to the drill ground this morning he said to me, 'Stand off one side from the line, you d--d black son of a b--h. You are too near that white man. I want you to remember you are not on an equal footing with the white men in your class, and what you learn here you will have to pick up, for I won't teach you a d--d thing.' ... And I could say nothing at all, or I would have been locked up for disobedience of orders to 'superior officers.' ... If I complain to the commandment I must prove the charges or nothing can be done; and where am I to find one from so many to testify in my behalf? ... I have borne insult upon insult until I am completely worn out... I forgot to tell you that out of ninety-one appointees, five failed physically, forty-seven failed mentally, leaving thirty-nine admitted. They had prepared it to fix the colored candidates, but it proved most disastrous to the whites" (14 July 1870, Vol 50, No 45, p2).
The sentiments of this firsthand perspective are captured in Shenandoah County, too, through the treatment of its citizens. Newspapers and county minutes and documents clearly delineate terms such as "colored" or "negro" whenever referring to an African American for over a century after the Civil War. In most cases none of the white citizens are similarly denoted as "white" and, in the newspapers particularly, are nearly always named with an accompanying title of respect, such as Mr. or Mrs. - a courtesy generally removed from African American citizens. One exception to this in the supervisor's minutes is from 1868 when "a free white farmer and not an enemy, but an alien subject of Great Britain, appeared in court and on oath stated that he has resided in this county for ten years and inclined to continue to reside therein, this declaration is made to enable him to hold real estate" (1868:301). Shenandoah County court cases for African Americans are nearly always recorded in minutes following the day's cases for white citizens in the century between the Civil War and Civil Rights. And, while lashing was not just used against African Americans for punishment in minor crimes, a district court case against an African American for allegedly stealing a bridle-bit clearly states the racist use of lashing in the court system: he "graciously submitted to the old-time punishment so familiar to that race - ten lashes with orders to return after the lapse of ten days and receive tenmore, which, of course, he will do" (Winchester News, Vol 13, No 29, 18 January 1878, p3). Another case noted in the Shenandoah Herald states: "A negro in Winchester, for stealing chickens, was sentenced to receive twenty lashes, to work in the chain gang for sixty days and to pay the cost of the prosecution." The editors continue this notice by calling out the African Americans in our very community: "We have several in this town who are waiting for an opportunity to exemplify their physical endurance under similar punishment" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol 55, No 20, 11 March 1875, p3). "In New Market, Shenandoah County, on the 25th... Martha Minor, colored, was arrested, tried, and ordered to receive 25 lashes for stealing some articles belonging to ... others" (Shenandoah Herald, Volume 56, Number 40, 3 August 1876 p3). Another judge declared that "negroes and whites are not equals under the laws of the United States; that either a white man is not the peer of a negro or a negro is not the peer of a white man, and the very law intended to abolish all the race distinctions is made the means of perpetuating them" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol 59, No 10, 11 December 1878, p2). This inequality of justice is also present in the depiction of an inequality of character. Many of our community's leaders mocked and belittled an entire race of people at a time when they should have been focusing on providing quality education and compassion. While we've read about these similar situations in nearly every single letter before, I want to especially draw your attention to Week 32: Fear of 'Negro Equality' and Week 37: Prejudicial to our Race, which hold similar sentiments of indifference by our community and even hatred toward American citizens with African ancestry. Sometimes this shows up in Aesop's fable-styled witticisms. The Shenandoah Herald shares two examples: "We have three candidates all on the same side of the re-adjustment question... Their discussions are somewhat like the negro's dispute with his master. He said, 'Ole massa and me sputed about an hour.' What about? 'Why massa, he said squashes growed best in damp ground and I said so too.' " (Vol 58, No 45, 14 August 1878 , p2) and "A young negro boot-black observed a neighbor poring wisely over a newspaper, whereupon he addressed him thus: 'Julius, what are you looking at dat paper fer? You can't read.' 'Go away,' cried the other indignantly; 'guess I can read; I's big enough for dat.' 'Big enuff.' retorted the other scornfully, 'dat ain't nuffin. A cow's big enuff to catch mice, but she can't.' " (Vol 59, No 12, 25 December 1878, p1). And other times, this insinuates the ignorance, not of individuals, but of an entire race through events of the time. One example is related to the Census Bureau of 1900: "The Bureau has had considerable trouble, particularly in the South, among the negroes, in ascertaining how the farms were being worked. In many cases the negroes did not know whether they were paying a fixed money rent or a share of the crops" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 48, 13 September 1900, p2). Another example relates to reactions to a natural phenomena: "The eclipse was attended by fatal results... From all parts of Virginia come reports of negroes terrified by the strangeness and to them miraculous nature of the spectacle. In some localities prayer and praise meetings were held, and in others dumb, frantic terror led the more ignorant to throw down their tools and flee, they knew not whither" (Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, Volume 7, Number 33, 31 May 1900, p2). Another noted feature of various local issues of newspapers needs mentioning when considering our community's view of African Americans and that is related to the Ku Klux Klan. The editors of the April 16, 1868 issue of Shenandoah Herald write: "The whole country seems to be in great excitement. The press, all over the country, are discussing the same mysterious personage, or demon, as some suppose; and military commanders forbid, under penalty, the press from publishing anything in relation to the matter, and, on the other hand, le grand diable, or what ever it may be, hands in the mysterious manuscript with positive injunctions to publish. Negroes and carpet-bagmen whistle to keep up their courage... The old nursery storys and legendary lore... are all recalled by the wonderful feats and mysterious doings of the wonderful and mysterious Ku-klux. We have seen some very satisfactory and intelligent articles in some of our exchanges in regard to the object, &c., of this organization, and feel satisfied that, whether this mysterious personage has been seen or not, yet, we believe the Klan is preparing to march... The following effusion found on our table, from some poetic brother of the mystic circle, we insert, as requested, without comment" (Vol. 3, No. 25, p.3). A poem, entitled Night of Terror continues, including the lines "The Klan is marching; on their banner a skull; / The storm is brewing that never will lull," and is submitted by a member of the Valley Klan. According to the June through November 1871 issues of Shenandoah Herald, a Woodstock merchant was selling Ku Klux hats. A resurgence of interest in the Ku Klux Klan appeared in local papers with the film, Birth of a Nation. During a showing in Richmond, Va, forty-two klan members were present for the film's final showing at Academy of Music. "There was a sudden silence throughout the theatre when, shortly before the beginning of the performance, the white-robed figures suddenly appeared... Then came a burst of applause. There followed the lowering of the lights and the beginning of the picture in which the most thrilling scenes depict the Ku Klux Klan in reconstruction days in the South coming to the rescue of the oppressed white people" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 105, No. 7, 17 February 1922, p.2). Two months later, the same paper reads: "A chapter of the Ku Klux Klan has been organized in Harrisonburg, according to a statement last night of a field representative of the Klan, who has been working in Harrisonburg since an address by Dr. J. H. Hawkins, of Norfolk here March 28, in the interests of the klan" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 105, No. 15, 14 April 1922, p.2). A year later, "while the Winchester Presbytery was holding its regular meeting... three members of the Ku Klux Klan, wearing the regulation white robes and hoods, entered the Presbyterian Church and walked deliberately from the Sunday school room to the auditorium, presented the local pastor with an envelope. They said nothing and departed as quietly as they entered. A press dispatch stated the Rev. was more than delighted with the contents of the beautifully written letters, because of the sentiment it expressed and also because the envelope contained $50 for his own personal use" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 106, No 16, 20 April 1923, p.2). Closest to home is a listing in the local advertisements of the September 26, 1924 newspaper: "The Ku Klux Klan will hold an open meeting in the Court House on Tuesday Night, September 30th. The Public is cordially invited to be present and hear the principles of this organization outlined by prominent speakers. Before the meeting at the Court House, the Klan will hold a parade through the town, and will attempt to portray the working of the order. Watch for the banners" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 107, No. 39, p.3). Not even a year later, fields away from where the current southern campus schools will be built almost a quarter of a century later, the Valley Klan held a major gathering at Shenandoah Caverns on Sunday, June 14, 1925. "Not only will the Valley Klans take part in exercises, religious and secular, which are on the day's program, but it is anticipated that hundreds will attend from nearby states. At 11 o'clock in the morning there will be church services, conducted by one of the leading evangelists in the country, and it is the purpose to make this service both inspiring and helpful. The dinner will be served either picnic style or at the Caverns Hotel, visitors taking their choice. In the afternoon at two, an innovation in Klan ceremonials will be the special program hundreds of feet below the surface, in the Grotto of the Gods. At four, prominent lecturers will set forth the objects and purposes of the Klan. While held under the auspices of the Ku Klux Klan, the day is set apart as National Flag Day, and the invitation to take part in the exercises is extended to everybody. Several brass bands have been secured for the occasion and it promises to be a red-letter day in Valley Klan history" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol 108, No 24, 12 June 1925, p7). The Ku Klux Klan was created by Confederate veterans at the close of the American Civil War and established as independent chapters across the southern US states. Their purpose was to continue the mission of the Confederacy in promoting white supremacy through the intimidation of African Americans, especially those aiming for political and local leadership. By 1871, the KKK was largely suppressed by the federal government, with a resurgence in 1915, due especially to the release of the silent film The Birth of a Nation. As of July 1925, the organizer of the Valley Ku Klux Klan had moved to Woodstock, Va, which the local newspaper noted as being "nearer the center of his work" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol 108, No 27, 3 July 1925, p.2). The Shenandoah Herald shares the 1925 Shenandoah County Fair information, which includes special days "on Tuesday, the opening day, when school children of the county will be admitted free, and Friday, the last day, when the Ku Klux Klan will play a conspicuous part in the program, with their own hand, addresses and other Klan ceremonies." The article concludes with the lines: "And remember it is YOUR COUNTY FAIR, and it begins next Tuesday, September 8" as well as a detailed program, including "Friday (Klan Day): Ku Klux Program 4:00 p.m. - Speaking. 5:00 - Klan Kristening. 5:45 - Kitchen Band. 7:00 - Speaking. 7:45 - Joint band concert. K.K.K. Band of Ballston, Va., and K. of P. Band of Woodstock. 8:15 - Free acts. 8:40 - Red fire parade led by K.K.K. Band. K. of P. Band in center of parade. 9:00 - Naturalizations. 9:20 - Double program of fireworks. Association and K.K.K" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol 108, No 36, 4 September 1925, p.1). As a follow-up to the county-wide exhibition, the September 18, 1925 issue includes the article, "Fair Success in All Ways: Closing Day and Night Without Precedent - Financial Success," in which the details of the evening are shared: "The great Shenandoah County Fair Association closed its 1925 exhibition Friday night in a blaze of glory. This is a trite expression but the whole heavens testified to the success of the big fair when a pyrotechnic display never equalled in the county turned the skies into a veritable blaze of gorgeous coloring made by spitting rockets and exploding bombs. Added to the set pieces was the electrical display put on by the Ku Klux Klan which had charge of much of the evening's entertainment. Crosses were lighted in the track enclosure and thousands looked on the mammoth parade, the christening exercises and initiation by the organization. Several addresses were made and the music was especially fine... The free acts, the best ever seen on the local grounds, delighted the record breaking crowd on Friday and Friday night, as compared with other last days of the fair... The gate receipts for the four days and nights exceeded those of any previous fair and the association, unlike many of the similar associations in Virginia is on firm financial ground. There will be a handsome surplus to apply to any indebtedness which might be outstanding" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 108, No 38, 18 September 1925, p.2). Following the American Civil War, as we have already seen, Shenandoah County, Va, was not a welcoming place for African Americans. But it was actually more than unwelcoming. Shenandoah County, Va, by the 1920s was becoming the beating heart of the regional Ku Klux Klan - promoting a message of white pride that would all too soon stain the very foundations of our educational system. Knowing this history, however repulsive it might feel to remember it, is vital to understanding the reason for the name change. Frays of hatred against African Americans and minorities have been tucked into community decisions, gatherings, and public places for decades. Our community has an obligation to respectfully resign the names of oppression that still linger over our public places and make sure they no longer return to haunt us. Thomas Jefferson noticed the quagmire of slavery, which is also applicable to social prejudice against minority groups that have made their ways into civil laws, when he wrote: "Justice is on one scale and self-preservation in the other" (Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 2016:151). It's time to leave the Confederacy in the history books, to let Confederate ancestors rest as peaceably as those ancestors that fought on the side of Great Britain during the American Revolution. Continuing to toy with the return of the names Ashby-Lee and/or Stonewall Jackson to our public schools is an act of injustice and blatant cruelty not just to our African American and minority neighbors, but to our entire community. Self-preservation and justice can go hand-in-hand. But not if self-preservation is only for the white majority. Last week, I shared about the establishment of six magisterial districts, intentionally named after Confederate leaders, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, in 1870 (Week 39: The Mask of Defiance). In addition to maintaining roads, managing the distribution of funds from state taxes, and eventually establishing a district tax to help with costs for schools and roads, another main purpose of each district was to establish its own volunteer school board, whose members were chosen by an appointed president, and which oversaw the public free school system. The free schools were described in a January 1871 local paper as something that "flourishes under various forms of government, and when once tried, is never abandoned, but on the contrary, is cherished and perfected more and more" (Shenandoah Herald, 12 January 1871, Vol. 51, No. 14, p.1).
The November 24, 1870 issue of the Shenandoah Herald shares the following information on the Public School System: "The State Board of Education are determined that the Public Schools shall be opened at the earliest practical moment. County Superintendents, and District Trustees have been appointed and preparations have been made to open the schools at once. The appropriation from State funds for this county will, it is thought amount to about four thousand dollars, which will be divided among the townships according to the number of children in each. The amount therefore, ranges from five to eight hundred dollars to the township. There being no county or district funds appropriated, the Trustees, to introduce the system with the limited funds in hand, must adopt one of two plans, - either to open from two to four schools in each township, or to call upon the citizens interested in each school to pay a portion of the Teacher's salary, and the trustees agree to pay the balance. By the latter plan many communities would receive the benefit of the State School fund, who otherwise would be deprived of it... The Public School System will employ no teachers who are not prepared to teach Orthography, Reading, Writing, Geography, Grammar and Arithmetic... In towns where Schools of a hundred scholars can be obtained, graded schools will be established, and where graded schools are kept open for ten months and properly supported by the citizens, liberal aid, independent of the State and County funds, may be expected. Several of the towns in this county are making laudable efforts to establish graded schools at once." (24 November 1870, Vol 51, No 8, p.2). According to an 1898 issue of the Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, the public free schools taught the English language, lasted "eight months, and all children between six and fourteen years of age (were) compelled to attend" (4 February 1898, Vol 5, No 16, p.2). By 1900, the free public school of Shenandoah County was receiving $10,106.06 in State school funds, which increased by $220.41 - a trajectory of 2% - the following year. The Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser states, "this fund goes to the several school districts as follows: Lee, $1,698.98; Ashby, $2,076.37; Madison, $1,680.03; Johnston, $1,140.91; Stonewall, $1,531.42; Davis, $1,713.55; Woodstock, $485.21. The rate of distribution is $1.4571 per capita of school population, the school population of the county being 7,087" (12 December 1901, Vol. 9, No 8, p2). The article mentions textbook purchase was the responsibility of patrons to the schools. Another 1900 article from the Edinburg Sentinel and Valley Advertiser, gives an idea of the public free school situation in the Ashby District, the largest district at the time, which received 20.5% of the apportioned state funds and had the following exact school listings: - Mt. Jackson Graded School - Conicville Graded School - St. Paul Graded School - Mt. Clifton Graded School - Willow Grove - Hawkinstown - Orkney Springs - Pine Church - Ottobein Chapel - Rochelle - Hamburg - Pleasant View - Craigs - Air Hill - Hudson's Cross Roads - Teaberry Point - Hepner's - Powder Springs - Morning View - Mt. Jackson, colored - Hammon's (27 September 1900, Vol. 7, No. 50, p2). The school names are most often derived from the names of communities or towns, sometimes with an environmental or geological landmark component and other times with the names of community founders or local educators. While the number of schools opened and maintained by each of the districts changed over the next several decades, one thing remained the same: these schools were segregated, sometimes by gender, but always by race. An 1871 school census of Ashby Township revealed "between the ages of five and twenty one years, 779 whites and 64 colored" (Shenandoah Herald, 2 February 1871, Vol. 51, No. 17, p.3). And the Shenandoah Herald's January 18, 1872 issue highlights a male school, female school, polytechnic institute, female seminary, and a colored public school in New Market. The article also mentions a Wood's School House; another school on Valley Pike, two miles north of New Market; with "attendance at all the schools... quite large and at some... young ladies and young men of from 17 to 20 years of age who are just beginning to read" (18 January 1872, Vol. 52, No. 14, p.3). The article continues by mentioning: Liberty School House, Forestville Male School, Forestville Female School, Flat Rock, Moore's Store, Fansler's School House, Barb's School House, Zirkel's School House, and Kipp's School House; as well as Lee Township having 14 public schools. Even in 1872, members of our county feared unsegregated schools. An article in Shenandoah Herald reads: "Consider who compose the radical party of Virginia. They are principally Federal office holders, Carpet-baggers, negroes and men who are opposed to the native white population of the State. Are you willing that the State government should pass into the hands of this party? Are you willing that a negro shall fill the office of county judge? Are you willing for your children to be compelled to associate with negro children in school? The radical party in other states have forced mixed schools upon the people. Will they not do it in Virginia, if you permit the State government to fall into their hands? ... Our property as well as our liberties will be in the hands of our most bitter enemies... Let not Virginia be found wanting for the first time, in this great battle for political liberty" (17 October 1872, Vol. 53, No. 1, p.2). The local paper excerpts the New York Tribune on this issue, as well: "It seems to be decided, at least, that the fourteenth amendment does not provide for every possible conflict of opinion between white and colored people. In considering the education of the children of the two races in the same schools, two Northern courts have recently held that the question belongs to the school board for decision, and not to the amendment of the citizen. Their arguments are that any classification, which preserves substantially equal school advantages is not prohibited by either the State or Federal constitution; that they cannot dictate where and by what teacher his children shall be taught; and that 'equality of rights' does not imply that white and colored children shall be educated in the same school any more than it implies the education of both sexes in the same school" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 53, No. 8, 5 December 1872, p. 2). Thus on the precipice of the 20th century, three decades after the establishment of the public schools system, Shenandoah County, Virginia, is poised to point out several key standards that will meet head-on over the next century: the stereotyped and biased perception of African Americans in the community as an ignorant, substandard class and the role of public schools in promoting true equality. As we will see, both will leave their watermarks on our public schools in the decades to come. 1870 was a tumultuous year for Virginia and for Shenandoah County.
The Board of Supervisor Minutes before 1870, record six magisterial districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The purpose of these districts was to divide the work of commissioners, overseers, and other appointed citizens with the ability to manage taxes, community matters from roads to the poor, conduct relevant business, including the eventual establishment of public schools, and more. Then, in large florid script, the minutes come to April 13, 1870. In conjunction with the appointment of registrars for the county after Virginia's full entrance into the Union in January 1870, the first mention of these magisterial districts as townships named mostly after Confederate leaders occurs. Shenandoah County had a new system established: townships, with newspapers noting the inclusion of numerical districts within each township over the next few years. These townships are: Lee, Ashby, Madison, Stonewall, Johnston, and Davis (Minutes 1869-1872, p.126). The only exception to being a Confederate leader was Madison, whose key role in writing the Constitution included the Ninth Amendment, which focused on states rights, and the Tenth Amendment, which sought to limit the powers of the federal government. His name, framed with those of Confederate heroes, sent a clear message of defiance to the United States. After only five years, the Freedmen's Bureau ceased its operations in 1870 and was officially disbanded in 1872. This cessation and Virginia's resentment over five years without full representation in the United States government, as well as the presence of U.S. martial law in southern states, was at the heart of the district name choices. Tensions between the two races in Virginia had been building for years. In November 1867, a Shenandoah Herald article entitled, "We Can Defeat the Negro Constitution," shares: "The Radical sheets and negro leaders of Virginia, with a reckless disregard for truth, are in the habit of asserting that the recent election for members of a Convention in this State shows a Radical majority of 45,455 votes. Their madness is not without method; the assertion is made for an obvious purpose. They are very eager to impress upon the white people of Virginia that ... it is not worth their while to make any efforts to save the State from negro rule" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 3, No. 7, 28 November 1867, p.2). The article continues using phrases like "these negrophilists are guilty" and "their party in the State is a miserable black abortion" to point out that of the 221,754 people that registered to vote in Virginia at that time, the race split was "116,982 whites and 104,772 negroes." The editors point out that this is "a white majority of 12,210 votes" and extrapolate on how that amount can only increase if apathetic white voters register before the next election. "It is a conceded fact that, instead of having increased, the negro population has decreased since 1860. During the war numbers of negroes ran away from the State, and they have been leaving it continually since the war. The decrease too has been mainly among the negro men. We set it down then, at a very low estimate, that there has been a falling off of 5,000 among the negro men of the State since 1860, which... leave(s) the whole number of negroes entitled to be registered under the Reconstruction acts about 107,000. In this calculation no allowance has been made for 'disfranchised niggers' and negro convicts... This estimate is more than confirmed by the reports of the Commissioners of the Revenue of Virginia for 1866, which sum up the whole negro male population of the State, 21 years of age and upwards, considerably less than 100,000... On the other hand, there are 111,982 white Conservatives registered up to this time, and besides there are fully 20,000 white men in Virginia who, altho' entitled to be registered under the Reconstruction acts of Congress, have failed to present themselves before the Boards of Registration at their sittings heretofore. - We can have, therefore, if a proper effort is made, upwards of 130,000 Conservative white registered voters before the election on the adoption of the Constitution takes place. In view of the foregoing facts, how then can any sane man doubt that we have it in our power to defeat the Radical scheme to negroize Virginia. Let every man do his whole duty, and all will be well. In the providence of God, we believe that the day of our deliverance is at hand, and we have reason for the faith that is in us. - This time is rapidly approaching when the 30,000 disfranchised white men of Virginia will be reinvested with their privileges, and the white man's party will be permitted to assert its full strength. When it does come, the old Commonwealth will be thoroughly cleansed of the political vermin that now befoul her, and Conservatism will crush rotten Radicalism to the dust; 'Show its mask off torn, And tramp its bloated head beneath the foot of scorn'" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 3, No. 7, 28 November 1867, p.2). When on January 26, 1870, Virginia's senators and elected officials gained full representation in the United States Congress through an act signed by President Grant, the 1867 article's fear became reality: required inclusion of the African American race in all aspects relative to citizenship. In order for Virginia's admission into the full political life of the Union, the State met several conditions: "First, That the Constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the right to vote by the Constitution herein... Second, That it shall never be lawful for the said State to deprive any citizen of the United States, on account of his race, color, or previous condition of servitude, of the right to hold office under the constitution and laws of said State, or upon any such ground to require of him any other qualifications for office than such as are required of all other citizens. Third, That the constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the school rights and privileges secured by the constitution of said State" (George P. Sanger, ed., The Statutes at Large and Proclamations of the United States of America. From December 1869 to March 1871, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1871, 16:63). With the two houses of Virginia's legislature having passed the Registration Act just days before April 13, 1870, guidelines for the general registration of U.S. citizens was released to the courts. Here is an excerpt: "3. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause to be prepared suitable books and blanks for the registration of voters, and shall forward them to the clerks of the county and hustings courts of the several counties, cities and towns, to be by them distributed to the registrars of their respective townships, wards and voting places. The books aforesaid shall be so arranged as to admit of the alphabetical classification of those registered, and shall be ruled in parallel columns, in which shall be entered the number, name of vote, the fact that he is sworn, his age, occupation, the place of residence at time of registration, the length of time of his residence in the county, city or town... The list of votes, white and colored, shall be kept and arranged in separate books." (Winchester Times, Vol 5, No 32, 13 April 1870, p.1). The April 28, 1870 issue of the Shenandoah Herald points out these new registration guidelines in clearer details, especially in terms of Confederate sympathizers: "Many of our citizens are under the impression that as they have registered themselves heretofore, that they are qualified voters now. But it is a mistake - that registration was under Military authority, and the lists mislaid or lost; and the present Registration is under Civil rule, as provided for in the new Constitution, which requires every eligible voter to register anew. No one will be permitted to vote at any election unless he first registers, and no one is excluded from registering and voting for having participated in rebellion" (Vol. 5, No. 34, p. 3). While the voters ultimately decide the person that will fill a specific leadership role, as we have learned all too well, the Code of Virginia gives authority over names, whether that is of schools or magisterial districts, to the local leaders. In terms of districts: "County magisterial district boundary lines and names shall be as the governing bodies may establish" (§ 15.2-1211.A). Shenandoah Herald's April 28, 1870 issue also gives an overview of these then new townships, which the appointed commissioners created to divide Shenandoah County: - Davis Township "corresponds with the district formerly know(n) as Magisterial District No. 1, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are Strasburg and Lebanon Church." - Stonewall Township "comprises that portion of Shenandoah County known as Magisterial District No. 2, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are the Court House and Conner's School house." - Johnston Township "comprises... Magisterial District No. 3, and is divided into three voting districts, the voting places of which are the 'Town Hall' at Woodstock, Dry Run School house and Manoah Harman's Mill." - Madison Township "embraces the same district which was formerly known as Magisterial District No. 4, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are Edinburg and the Church above and near Columbia Furnace." - Ashby Township "corresponds with the District formerly known as Magisterial District No. 5, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are: Mt Jackson and the School house at Hudson's X Roads." - Lee Township "corresponds with that portion of Shenandoah County which was formerly known as Magisterial District No. 6, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are: New Market and Forestville." Over 150 years have passed since the names of local districts were first established according to the names of Confederate heroes. Following various censuses, the voting districts have been adjusted from time to time. For example, district 6 today refers to Strasburg and is not the number associated with Lee Township, which is a term that is no longer used to describe the magisterial districts in the 21st century. In 2023, Shenandoah County is divided into 12 precincts that represent 6 districts, none of which refers to Confederate leaders, but to the names of communities that aim to be spaces of inclusion for all its citizens: - 1: Orkney Springs and New Market - 2: Conicville and Mount Jackson - 3: Edinburg, St. Luke, and Fort Valley - 4: Woodstock - 5: Cedar Creek, Toms Brook, and Lebanon Church - 6: Strasburg Leaders in our county have responsibilities to all of its members, not just those that align with a specific political party. In 1870, another event happened only days following these registration issues: the third-story balcony inside the Virginia Capitol building collapsed on April 27, 1870, killing more than 50 people. The editors of the May 5th issue of the Shenandoah Herald mention this calamitous incident in Richmond, Virginia, by referencing The Petersburg Index: " 'If Virginia shall hereafter erect a tablet to tell the history of the late disaster may it be truthfully stated thereon that the people of the State learned from such a sudden and heart-rending reality, to discard minor differences and petty animosities, and dated a new departure towards peace and lasting happiness, from the awful event the tablet commemorated.' To this we heartily respond. Would that, from this time, the lesson taught could dwell in hearts, and influence the action of our people!" (Shenandoah Herald, 5 May 1870, Vol. 5, No. 35, p. 2). And so I wish this mindset for us today. Can we move towards peace and lasting happiness by focusing on how the new names of southern campus schools can do the same as our local districts today: bring communities together to celebrate the beautiful spaces that we love so much in Shenandoah County, Va? Or will we continue to hold communities hostage through our minor differences and petty animosities by continuing to threaten to return to the oppressive misuse of the names of Confederate leaders, over 150 years later? I was at the deathbed of a friend yesterday. It was hard and I didn't realize how I had scaffolded my own emotions to be a source of support for her loving caregivers until I got home late in the day, when my own well of emotion was released. Mourning those we love and admire is hard. But, it should never be the source of greater harm. In the end, it was wrong for Virginia's, for Shenandoah County's leaders to use names that define this beautiful place as weapons of defiance and idolatry. Each of us should really consider the overall impact of such decisions and work to create public spaces that welcome and communicate compassion and inclusion for all our citizens - not just the white majority. One of the issues facing the Freedmen's Bureau was education of a newly freed populace, especially in communities hostile to it. On November 4, 1865, William Coan (writing a personal letter from Augusta County to Samuel Hunt) shared this perspective: "My last to you was from Woodstock since which I have been at New Market and Harrisonburg... Rebellion was deeply seated there and instead of getting better like total depravity seems to wax worse and worse. They do not boldly threaten the lives of those who may undertake to teach a school for colored children but, the more mild and nominally Union who are presumed to speak advisedly say that 'a teacher' could not live a week... I had a meeting of the colored people who are enthusiastic about the school... I have seen no place where Educational influences are more needed and demanded than in this Valley." The letter continues mentioning the "constant cruel and outrageous treatment of the blacks" at the hands of Rebels who have the "determination to make their condition as uncomfortable as possible;" and of a "deadly opposition to their being educated," which was even professed by Christians and ministers.
A personal letter dated 11 January 1866 from W. Storer How in Winchester to Orlando Brown in Richmond, Va, shares: "The detachments stationed at Woodstock and Harrisonburg came in yesterday under orders to be mustered out, and it is the unanimous belief of the officers that an agent of this Bureau cannot remain unmolested in these places if unsupported by the presence of troops. Gen. Ayres has found it necessary to send a guard with the supply wagons, because the drivers were stoned by mobs... I desire again to express my conviction that it is worse than useless to attempt a continuance of the Bureau in this district, without the presence and support of a military force. The Schools might live but I think it very doubtful." And not just the schools were unwelcomed, but even teachers were at risk in Shenandoah County, Va. A Freedmen's Bureau report dated 30 April 1866 noted "the maltreatment of two Freedmen on the road to Mount Jackson to teach school" (Shenandoah County, Folio 77). Amidst the local turmoil of providing an education for African Americans, political leaders in the national government could not agree on the type of relief given through the Freedmen's Bureau. The June 1866 Shenandoah Herald reveals the appropriation of funds to the Freedmen's Bureau as passed by the House of Representatives at a little over 11 million dollars. "The Senate however, thought this too much, and struck out and reduced various items, so as to make the aggregate but $6,547,550" (Vol 1, No 38, 28 June 1866, p2). The itemization included: telegraphing, medical department, and stationery and printing completely removed; as well as reductions in clothing, item for commissary stores, transportation, and school houses, the latter of which saw the greatest reduction from $3,000,000 to only $500,000. Even with nominal funds, local dispositions toward education were not often favorable, especially for African Americans, in our country. A Shenandoah Herald notice To the Public from a citizen in Woodstock, Va, dated 5 November 1866 announces: "From various sources the report has reached me that it was my purpose to teach a school of Freedmen. The report being so utterly groundless, I can but pronounce it the invention of some base, malicious slanderer, designing my injury. The currency of the report is my reason for this public denial. Before the late war I had no sympathy or feeling not in keeping with the peculiar interest of this section; during the war I endeavored to endorse my views by a cheerful and prompt discharge of a soldier's duty; since its close, while acquiescing in the result. I have by no means been convinced - nothing but abject want could induce me to think of schools of any sort. White schools I have refused time and again. Negro schools, under no circumstances, would I teach. Believing the report was originated and circulated for the purpose of injuring me, I have given it this public denial" (Vol 2, No 5, 8 November 1866 p.2). A personal letter dated 11 February 1867 from Officer Brackett of Staunton, Va, to Chaplain Manley in Richmond, Va, provides a more hopeful perspective of the educational situation: "I have the honor to report that the schools in my district have been in successful operation during the past month. We have opened one new school in Charlestown, W.Va. with two teachers, one at Woodstock, Va. with one, since the beginning of the year 67. I have not yet received a report from Woodstock. Without it, the number of pupils in our day schools, at Staunton, Lexington, Harrisonburg, Front Royal (Va.) and Harpers Ferry, Martinsburg, Charlestown and Shepherdstown (W.Va.) is eight hundred sixty seven, average attendance six hundred thirty six, average attendance at night schools, three hundred thirty one. We have met with no opposition from citizens during the last month, whilst we have urgent application from different places to open more schools both for colored and white children." On 17 April 1867, Bracket wrote to Chaplain Manley in a personal letter: "we had in operation eleven schools located as follows: at Lexington, three, at Staunton, four, at Harrisonburg, two, at Woodstock, one, at Front Royal, one. Whole number of pupils enrolled in day schools, six hundred seventy one, with an average attendance of five hundred forty four. The night schools averaged two hundred fifty nine. The numbers diminish as the season advances." Education is exactly what the African Americans in Shenandoah County, Virginia, wanted. A note in the Freedmen's Bureau records dated 24 January 1868 to Captain Hall from New Market reveals this issue had been reported as such: "We the colored citizens of New Market, Va" send a request "from the government for a School. We have a teacher from Washington, Penn., here he has commenced a school numbering now 27 scholars. We open one of our dwelling houses last Tuesday the 21. Next Monday we will have from forty-five to fifty scholars. All the Books we can get here in New Market is McGuffey's Newly revised... primer. We do not house any other books... We will do the best we can our children learn very fast and hope you will help us as soon as you can... Aid us all you can." Another Freedmen's Bureau notice to Captain Hall from New Market, Va, dated 27 February 1868 states: "We have no school house to teach in. I have been keeping school in a dwelling house and the people is too poor to keep school alone. We are out of Books we need. We want geography and arithmetics..." As American botanist and educator, George Washington Carver (1864-1943) would write, "Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom." Our fellow African American community members recognized this, which is why they wrote to Freedmen's Bureau agents requesting schools and resources. True education, on par with what any American citizen could receive is what they yearned for; not the watered-down version offered in teaching enslaved individuals how to read a Slave Bible (Week 7: The Courage of Christ). Education impacts not only the present, but also the future of a people. Education has the potential to break down barriers, to establish empathy and positive connection in a community, to empower people to courageously face and solve challenges together. But, focusing on Shenandoah County, Va's commitment to education after the Civil War, equality and unity are not a part of the conversation for an entire century, as we will see. In 1866, the following handwritten notice is included in Shenandoah County's Freedmen's Bureau folder: "At a meeting of the colored citizens of Woodstock, held the 5th day of February 1866, the following preamble and resolution was unanimously adopted. - Whereas the Shenandoah Herald, a paper published in this place... has up to the date of the last issue published matter prejudicial to our race and to our progress in education and respectability, therefore Be it resolved that... they are hereby appointed a committee to wait upon the Editors of said paper and to politely and respectfully request them to desist from any further publication of such matter and to report in writing, their reply to this request as early as possible."
An earlier letter (Week 32: Fear of 'Negro Equality') addressed the perspective of African Americans in our community via local newspapers in 1865. Today, we look at excerpts specifically from Shenandoah Herald to see the perspective to which our African American neighbors are referring. I'm only sharing those issues that are available online, thus all of the excerpts are dated in the same year, but following the above notice. - "The great iron gates of the Union are about to be thrown open for the admission of the 'outside barbarians,' niggers and all... Mr. Stevens is in favor of admitting our unbleached 'American citizens of African 'scent' first, as they have never been 'outlawed' by his committee. Having rested his weary head upon the bosom of a sooty daughters of Ham for many years, Mr. Stevens believes the negro to be more 'civilized' than the white people of the South" (Vol 1, No 38, 28 June 1866, p.2) - "In regard to the blacks, the President says they will find work enough, and for many years to come probably better remuneration than any other class of agricultural laborers in the country. The competition of capitalists and land-holders will insure good treatment and good pay from the planters. That there will be much disorder is to be expected; but there will be no more than there would be at the North were the number of black laborers sufficiently numerous to enter into serious rivalry with the white laborers" (Vol 1, No 43, 2 August 1866, p.1). - "Our radical brethren in this country have recently made a grand discovery relative to the negro race, that throws the researches of the Ethnological Society of Great Britain in the shade - a discovery that refutes all the stern facts given to the world by Livingstone, Anderson, and other explorers of the wilds of Africa. - They have discovered that the negro race is as susceptible of high intellectual and moral development as any other; and they intend to coax him out of the 'pig sty' by investing him with one of the most sacred privileges that man can enjoy in his highest condition of civilization and enlightenment, - the elective franchise. - Give the negroes, - many thousands of whom are scarcely half civilized, and are utterly incompetent to understand the simplest rudiments of civil government, much less its more intricate workings, - and he will come out of the 'pig-sty' a renewed, regenerated and elevated begin. If the 'Ehiopian' cannot 'change his skin,' the right to vote in obedience to the directions of radical teaching will change his whole moral being! Blessed is the man that first invented negro suffrage!" (Vol 2, No 2, 18 October 1866, p. 2) - "...it is well known that negroes commit three-fourths of the crimes perpetrated in the district. In fact, they keep the machinery of the courts in perpetual motion. Yet the Freedmen's Bureau is of so benevolent a composition that it takes Government money, or rather the people's money to keep these colored citizens out of the... penitentiary" (Vol 2, No 2, 18 October 1866, p. 2) - In giving a report on Wendell Phillips, a Northern representative speaking to his party: "Speaking of the constitutional amendment, he denounced the insertion of the word 'males' as 'a libel on the nineteenth century.' He would of course include women, black and white, mulatto and ginger-bread brown, under the head of 'citizens,' and give them the glorious privilege of voting" (Vol 2, No 3, 25 October 1866, p.2) - a reprinted article, "The Submission of the South," from the Baltimore Transcript states: "Mr. Lincoln once declared that he feared, after the war was over, that Congress would have to take action to compel the Southern people to send representatives to that body. How little did he foresee what has been the actual truth... Instead of a countumacious spirit on the part of the South there has been the most entire and universal submission to the authority of the Government,... the ratification of the abolition of their slave property, involving the sacrifice of four thousand millions of dollars; the repudiation of the Confederate war debt; the acknowledgment of the supremacy of the United States, and of he indissoluble character of the American Union; the enactment of laws to protect the rights of every citizen, whether white or black" (Vol 2, No 3, 25 October 1866, p.2). - "Our radical neighbor evidently means that the Southern people should adopt the constitutional amendment recommended by the joint committee and adopted by Congress at its last session, by which they would choose between negro suffrage and virtual disfranchisement for themselves.... We deny that the proposed amendment is 'the expressed will of the nation' until it shall have been ratified by three-fourths of all the States constituting the 'nation' ...and the South shall resist it after it shall have been incorporated in the constitution..." (Vol 2, No 5, 8 November 1866, p.2). - editorial comment on an excerpt from The Christian Advocate: "Indeed, they are in strict accordance with the whole theory of the radical party, that the negro race is the political and social equal of the white. Teh Advocate is for putting this radical idea into practice.... Let a few more of the northern States, now under bondage to this relentless party, choose negroes to make their laws, and we shall soon be told that it is the 'expressed will of the nation' and that it is the duty of the South to 'submit' to it!" (Vol 2, No 6, 15 November 1866, p.2) - "As we before stated, in voting on the amendment, the southern States will virtually choose between negro suffrage and non-representation. If they shall adopt the amendment and 'establish negro suffrage,' they will count the negro population in the apportionment of representation; but if they reject the amendment, the negro population is not so counted... If we refuse to conform to the requirements of our radical task-masters, they will deprive the rebels, so-called, of all participation in the government, and give their birth-right to the negroes..." (Vol 2, No 7, 22 November 1866, p.2) - "A fair by the Colored People, Of this place, will be held during the coming holidays, the proceeds to be applied in repairing the house used by the colored people as a church and for erecting a pulpit in the same. Aunt Mary, the head-centre, requests us to respectfully invite the white citizens to contribute to their enterprise, that they may have a comfortable place to worship in this winter. We believe this to be a laudable purpose, and as they appeal to us, and not to our enemies, let us render whatever assistance we can" (Vol 2, No 7, 22 November, 1866, p.3). - "Where's the Nigger? - A Mongrel sheet, the Tamaqua Journal, says: - 'We have had the Republican victory, now where's the nigger? ... You can eat nothing, wear nothing, see nothing, taste nothing, or have nothing that is not more or less affected by the miserable niggerism that has controlled the country ever since the Black Republican party got it by the throat.' No you see it" (Vol 2, No 11, 20 December 1866, p.2) A perusal of only six months in 1866 yields examples of the prejudiced perspectives disseminated in newspapers regarding the view of African Americans in Shenandoah County, Virginia. While the Freedmen's Bureau was working to increase equality in opportunities, by providing for basic needs, monitoring work contracts, and helping to establish educational opportunities for African Americans that were recently freed, leaders in our community circulated stereotyped stains of character for African Americans, as well as promoted a general sense that they should not be deemed as equal to white citizens. Meanwhile, laudations of the immovable faith, honor, and right character of Confederate soldiers amassed in these same papers - setting the stage for decades of oppression against African Americans and establishment of the Lost Cause Narrative. A narrative which until 2020 was still intertwined with our county's southern campus public schools via the names they bore. Among the Freedmen's Bureau records for Shenandoah County, Va, there is a letter from Winchester written in November 1865 stating that the War Department furnished a circular from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in October of 1865 that required local authorities to provide for pauper freedmen. It quotes this circular: " 'Vagrant laws made for free people and now in force in the Statute Books of the State now embraced in the operations of this Bureau, will be recognized and extended to the freedmen.' " The letter continues: "Furnish them with lists of the dependent residents before the war within their respective jurisdictions, and any other information requisite to enable all such persons to receive the care and support which they are entitled."
The purpose of the Bureau was to offer care and support so that African Americans could gain an equal footing in a unified United States of America. A circular from the Winchester office written July 12, 1866 mentions the importance the U.S. government placed on helping African Americans reach a state of independence, noting a "necessity of exercising the greatest care in the issue of Rations to Refugees and Freedmen in their respective sub divisions with the view of reducing the number of persons dependent upon the Government for subsistence as rapidly as is consistent with the prevention of actual suffering." The sub division officers were noted to focus on those "actually in a destitute condition and unable to support themselves" despite the 1866 woodcut political cartoon that was in circulation regarding what was perceived as the real purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau. This racist depiction of African Americans highlights the already negative opinion of many people, especially in southern states like Virginia. A letter from a refugee in Orkney Springs, Va, addressed subdivision officer Hall with his concerns: "I will inform you that I had sent a man for my Ration and was disappointed in getting them, you must excuse me for not sending at the right time but when a Refugee must depend on Rebels he is disappointed sometimes. I also understood that no one draws rations, only the needy. Now if I am not needy I don't know who those are that are needy for I am sick and can't work anything and lost what I had left in the hands of the Rebels: now I must depend on other people for my support. Now I can make oath to this or lend you a number of witnesses that will state the same. I would be very glad if you would come and see me, if you think I can't draw my rations, I will try the General freemans Bureau. If you please write so soon as possible and let me know when I can send for my rations." This refugee served as a private in Company E of the 136th Virginia Militia Regiment and was listed as crippled in 1870. He was not a freedman, but was requesting rations and, at least up until this letter, was receiving aid. It's important to note this because it proves the racist cartoon shared above as being unfounded in truth, at least according to records from Shenandoah County, Virginia. African Americans were not the only ones receiving help; and according to the Vagrancy Act of 1866, could be forced into unpaid employment if they proved as vagrants. As we have been reading and will continue to notice, unified community wasn't happening here or in many of the formerly Confederate States' communities. A circular from Richmond, Va, written on May 1, 1867 was sent to all the officers and agents of the Freemen's Bureau, reminding them to "take care that the Freedmen, within their respective jurisdictions, are made acquainted with their rights under the Act of Congress 'to provide for the more efficient government of the Rebel States.' " and continues "all Freedmen... will also be instructed that, as they will not be allowed to suffer from the honest exercise of the right of suffrage, they should disregard all threats or undue influence tending to prevent or restrain the same. Prompt report will be made to the President of the local Board of Registration of any case in which the rights of a Freedman... are withheld or interfered with" (Mallery, 1867). This is exactly the sort of thing happening in Shenandoah County, Virginia, with the intimidation of African American, Celina Jackson, when she witnessed a flag pole burning in Woodstock, VA on 28 May, 1868 and was assaulted by white men threatening her if she gave evidence to authorities on 9 July, 1968 (case number 28 and 36). And the assault and robbery of African American Hiram Turner in Shenandoah County on 24 April, 1868 by two white men (case number 16). A Freedmen's Bureau letter from October 31, 1867 gives the testimony of a man who was beaten for being part of the Union League, which his assailant titled "that dammed nigger league." He states: "being in fear of my life and of the opinion that justice will not be rendered me on account of the circumstances" he sought the protection of the Military Authorities when he went to vote for the Union ticket, as he describes it. (Hall, October 31, 1867) Peter Armstrong, a freedman, made a sworn statement on February 20, 1866 in Woodstock, Va, to Hall, that "while at New Market two white men used threatening language, saying they would 'shoot him, the old villain if it takes 5 years' and soon after a colored man came to him and warned him of his danger, saying that some men were inquiring after said Peter... and it would be dangerous for him to be seen there after light" (Hall, February 20, 1866). In addition, a letter from March 12, 1866 from agent Hall in Woodstock, VA, shares a sworn statement of a man that lived on little Stony Creek that witnessed an incident - not long after the surrender of Lee in spring of 1865 - in which "soldiers in the Rebel Army... attacked and robbed three U.S. soldiers... and afterwards took them on towards an old ore bank," where they were subsequently found dead some time later. It is evident that the Freedmen's Bureau officers were working extremely hard to benefit and make better the plight of African Americans in our communities. They sought to bring justice to people that were not accustomed to receiving justice in the courts or via civil authorities in Shenandoah County, Va. And, based on a letter written by Kendrick in Mt Jackson, Va, on February 6, 1866, who was trying to secure the debt of an African American man, without his knowledge, to give him more time to pay off $40 that the African American owed another person, officers and agents of the bureau made personal efforts to aid those neglected and struggling in our community. In this letter, he states, "the people in our village are law-abiding." But were they - our ancestors - compassionate? And are we compassionate enough today to make sure our public spaces hold inclusion for everyone in our community, not just those with Confederate ancestors? Reports are not the only information preserved in the Freedmen's Bureau records, which we began examining in detail during Week 33: Bitter Prejudice. The Freedmen's Bureau, according to The Library of Virginia, focused on "establishing hospitals and schools, providing rations, supervising the creation of labor contracts between freedmen and planters, and ensuring justice." There are a mass of letters - some brief, others verbose; some in neat cursive as if deliberated and others scrawled a little too quickly for full intelligence from the script. All of them reveal the kinds of cases the commanding officers had to investigate in lands as yet still hostile to the US government. The letters cover everything from reimbursement of funds to firsthand accounts by residents of injustice.
The commissioner reports we just read (Week 33: Bitter Prejudice and Week 34: Need for Radical Change) noted the confirmation of marriages as another activity of the Freedmen's Bureau, but what they didn't mention were requests for reuniting parents with children that had been sold before the eradication of slavery, as noted by the following letters. "Information is desired of Jeff Donnavay, colored, aged 14, bought in December 1863 by... of Richmond, Va... His mother... is very desirous of learning his whereabouts, and this application for information is made at her request" (Letter from McDonnell, Winchester, VA, April 22, 1868). "Information is desired of Robert Donnavay, colored, aged 16, bought in December 1863 by... of Farmville, Prince Edward County, Va... He is the son of ..., at whose request this application for information is made" (Letter from McDonnell, Winchester, VA, April 22, 1868). Another letter captures the enigmatic nature of communication in Shenandoah County, not only between Freedmen's Bureau commissioners, but also between civilians and the commissions. "A colored woman named Emily (a very large woman) left this place last week, and in defiance of my order, took with her... a minor (a girl) named Alice. Please have the said girl sent to me. The woman must be made of course to pay expenses" (Letter from Hall, Woodstock, VA, October 30, 1866). From Donnell to Hall, stationed in Woodstock, VA: "In reply to your communication... in which you ask if you are authorized to issue an order to the employer of a colored person, (who hired him from his other owner) to pay said colored man for his services since January 1, 1863, instead of to the heirs of his former owner - you are respectfully informed that you have no authority to issue such an order" (Letter from Donnell, Winchester, VA, January 10, 1868). Helping African Americans living in Shenandoah County, VA, as well as throughout the state, was a balancing act. The Freedmen's Bureau aimed to do what they could to help people become more than mere property, whose purpose was to serve the needs of wealthier white families. When families are dispersed, when the memory of enslavement still tarnishes the hope of paid work, when people own no land from which they can grow food or a cash crop, and when educational opportunities are limited, a handful of people can only do so much. If a community is not willing to work together to create opportunities of equality and commitment to one another's welfare, even through charitable organizations, then it's not a community. Community is more than just people living in the same location. Community also includes commonality of culture, ethos, or other shared goals. Community means common unity. People don't have to look the same, but they should promote fairness in matters of justice. As we have seen and will continue to see, this was not happening in Shenandoah County, Virginia, after the Civil War. And that understanding is imperative to know when a community is naming public spaces together. Today we continue with the quarterly commissioner reports from Winchester, VA. Since they are rather lengthy, I chose to focus just on 1868 in this letter. You'll also notice, I am only including the sections that pertain to Shenandoah County, even though the letters are really fascinating to see what's happening in the counties surrounding Shenandoah County, too.
April 1, 1868 reveals the following update from McDonnell in Winchester, VA: "Third Division, comprising the Counties of Shenandoah and Rockingham "1st The General Condition of the freedpeople in this division is perhaps better than in either of the other divisions in this Sub-District, owing it is supposed to the comparatively few therein and the demand for labour. All are employed and although the wages are small, still, with constant employment, there is no suffering as the people have a choice of employers, causes of complaint are few, and if temperate and economical, they cannot fail in steady progression. "2d The prospect of full and complete justice being given Freedmen in cases where they are interested against Whites is not good. An offence committed by a colored person is looked upon as more heinous, and therefore should be punished more severely than the same offence committed by a white person. Political and other prejudices operate unfavorably to the ends of justice in this division. "3d The Register of Marriages for Shenandoah County is completed and in convenient form, ... "4t The county authorities provide for the indigent freedpeople as for the same class of whites, the means are ample, and the houses tolerably fair for the purpose. "5t The demand for labor will generally exceed the supply. Freedmen with families would do well to settle in this division avoiding Harrisonburg as a location, which is already too full. "6t The School at Harrisonburg. numbering one hundred and seven (107) ... is in excellent condition, and which reflects credit on its teacher. Twenty six dollars ($26) was paid in February by the pupils for the support of this school. The Schoolhouse is the property of the freedmen. "The school organized on the 21st of January at New Market, now numbers fifty six (56) and is in charge of Jesse Robinson (colored) As yet the colored people have manifested but little disposition to sustain this school. Only six dollars ($6 00 )) was paid by the pupils in February. "At Woodstock the school in charge of Miss Mary J. Knowles numbers sixty (60) and exhibits a fair degree of proficiency. Schools could be organized at Strasbourg, and Mount Jackson if teachers and rooms were supplied, with an attendance of about fifty (50) at each place" (April 1, 1868:5-7). The Third Division report from McDonnell in Winchester, VA for Shenandoah & Rockingham Counties in July 1, 1868 is as follows: "1st All the Freedpeople are employed and as in the 2d Division they are well distributed, except at Harrisonburg, and their general condition is prosperous. At the latter place there is a good schoolhouse, the property of the colored people well attended, and showing a degree of efficiency commendable to ... the teacher. This school also closes on the 1st July, much to the regret of parents, and pupils. Reports of unprovoked assaults on Freedpeople and known Union people are well founded, and the recent outrage perpetrated at Woodstock before reported is perhaps the best indication of popular opinion which can be cited. While the freedpeople are industrious, peaceable and temperate, showing every disposition to become good law abiding citizens, they are not always permitted to enjoy the fruits of their industry quietly, but are cruelly maltreated by vagabonds, publicly known in their locality as White gentlemen. The frequent absence of Mr. Hall from his division and his reticence in affairs taking place during such absences no doubt stimulates offenders to repetition of such unlawful practices. A second outrage was perpetrated on the colored girl Celina Jackson during my recent visit on inspection to Woodstock. "While the girl was walking quietly into Church on the Sabbath she was assaulted and struck across the face with an umbrella by R. L. one of the party who on a former occasion was fined "one cent" by a Jury for whipping Mr G. R., present State Treasurer. "If practicable I would respectfully recommend that the officer of the Bureau at Woodstock may also be appointed Military Commissioner, with full power to correct abuses which are totally neglected by the Civil Authorities, and which if permitted to increase will eventually lead to serious results. "2d The likelihood of full and complete justice being given to freedmen in cases where they are interested against whites is hopeful in Rockingham County but the indications in Shenandoah County are such as to leave no room for hope, unless a radical change takes place in the community, and a more determined effort is made by the officers of the law to execute their duties with fidelity. "3d The Register of Marriages is completed, ... "4th The County authorities have ample provision for caring for their own indigent poor, and freedpeople are received and treated as are the White inmates. Outdoor relief, where the necessities of the case require is also given. "5th The demand for labor is greater than the supply except at Harrisonburg. Many families could find employment in both Counties at about $10 per month. "6th The schools at Harrisonburg and Woodstock which are now closed, were in excellent condition, well attended and well conducted, with the advancement as progression and rapid as could be expected. "Edinburg, Mt. Jackson, Strasburg & New Market in Shenandoah County require schools, but nothing can be expected from the people towards their establishment or support" (July 1, 1868:9-12). The 3rd division report, that includes Shenandoah County, from McDonnell in Winchester VA on October 10, 1868 shares: "1st General Condition- All the freedpeople who are able to work, are employed at prices varying from $8 to $12 per month. At Harrisonburg they appear to be in a very prosperous condition, they have erected a good schoolhouse at an expense of about $600, and during the last term of the school paid by contribution about $40 per month toward the supply of teachers. Extraordinary efforts will be made in this Division during the coming winter to increase the number of schools and it is hoped with success. The very bitter political prejudice of a large number of the Whites in is ... made manifest whenever the slightest opportunity presents is very much to be regretted. Woodstock, Edinburgh, and New Market are noted for the hostility on the part of their citizens towards men from the North, Officers of the Government... "Such outrages have the effect to [unclear: infuriate] the colored persons. Selina Jackson, a freedgirl having been repeatedly assaulted for giving evidence against a party of men accused of cutting down and burning a flagpole in front of the Bureau office at Woodstock and being unable to obtain redress or protection, was compelled to leave the County to escape further violence. Since the arrival of Mr. James Agent of the Bureau at Woodstock, no reports of abuse have been made, and it is sincerely hoped such [unclear: censurable] practices will soon cease altogether. "2d It is believed the Magistrates intend to administer fair and impartial justice altho' complaints have been made that they have not done since the case of Selina Jackson. Perhaps it is fair to presume that they are not prepared to fully oppose strong local prejudices which could not fail to be disastrous to Magistrates engaged in business. It is very doubtful if fair and impartial juries can be found to try cases in which colored men are parties. "3d The Register of Marriages is completed in each County, and each of the four paragraphs are believed to be carried out as far as practicable. "4t The County Authorities provide for the indigent freedpeople as they do for the whites, and their means are ample. "5t The supply of labor is less than the demand but no encouragement can be given for the introduction of more at this season In the Spring from three to four hundred (300 to 400) agricultural hands could find ready employment at prices before stated. "6t There were no schools in Session during the quarter - Strasburg, Mount Jackson and New Market, in addition to the places at which schools have already been established seem to require schools, and at least fifty (50) pupils at each place would attend, but the people, from indifference and poverty will offer no reliable inducement towards an effort to organize schools at those places. "The interest taken by Mr James in the affairs of this division will it is believed be production of excellent results. "As the freedman's friend, he will labor for their advancement socially, encourage education, and it is hoped bring about a better state of feelings between the race than has heretofore existed" (October 10, 1868:7-10). A report from McDonnell, Winchester VA, on December 31, 1868 of the 3rd division, including Shenandoah County: "Except at Harrisonburg and Woodstock, the colored people are well distributed in this division, and constant employment is obtained without difficulty the greater part of the year. The people however are very poor, and appear less ambitious than elsewhere. Seldom obtaining cash for labor, they depend on employers to furnish the necessities of life for their families, forgetting that when a settlement comes, they will have to pay the highest store prices for what they had. Except also at the first mentioned place, they appear to have but little interest in education. They would attend schools if furnished them without the expense of Rooms, Teachers, or fare, but no great importance seems to be attached to gaining knowledge through the slow progress of books. The advancement of those who live remote from large towns or settlements, and in the mountains is extremely slow. Few contracts for the coming year have been made. "2d Reports from the officer in charge indicate that full and complete justice is given to Freedmen in cases where they are interested against white men. This is probably so as far as the courts are concerned, but in trials by Jury it is certain that mens prejudices operate against the Freedmen especially in cases of assault, or in the settlement of accounts. Mr James has reported one or two cases where it was evident the juries did not regard the evidence. "3d The Register of Marriages is complete. No additions have been made to it for some months... "4th Indigent freedpeople are provided for by the authorities of the County, and the means adequate. Few colored people will consent to become inmates of the Poorhouse. "5th The supply of labor is greater than the demand, except at the dullest season. Even at present all are employed who are able to work. "6th But one school is yet in operation, it is located at Harrisonburg, ... Schools will also be commenced as rapidly as teachers can be secured, at Woodstock, Strasburg and New Market. "Since Mr. James has been assigned to this Division, an improved state of feeling has existed between the white and colored people" (December 31, 1868:10-12). Let's reflect on these reports over the last two weeks. Thanks to the 13th Amendment, slavery has been eradicated. The Confederacy has been dissolved and left in history, where it belongs. However, this series of reports written by McDonnell gives an overview of sentiments toward African Americans in Shenandoah County in 1866-1868 that should chill us even today: - "strong feeling of hostility" - "bitter prejudice" - "the condition of freedpeople in these Counties does not improve in any perceptible degree, owing to the intensely bitter feelings of the whites, especially in Shenandoah County" - "full and complete justice is not given" - "the Whites are an intensely disloyal people, in real sentiment, and were the protection ... withdrawn, the freedmen would be treated pretty much as they used to be" - "unprovoked assaults on Freedpeople and known Union people" - "freedpeople are industrious, peaceable and temperate, showing every disposition to become good law abiding citizens, they are not always permitted to enjoy the fruits of their industry quietly, but are cruelly maltreated by vagabonds, publicly known in their locality as White gentlemen" - "indications in Shenandoah County are such as to leave no room for hope, unless a radical change takes place in the community" - "very bitter political prejudice of a large number of the Whites" - "Woodstock, Edinburgh, and New Market are noted for the hostility on the part of their citizens" - "a... girl having been repeatedly assaulted ... and being unable to obtain redress or protection" Is this the way we want Shenandoah County to be remembered and labeled? These are phrases taken verbatim from reports. It's real history that we aren't talking about. These perspectives on our ancestral community members should be difficult for us to hear. Dr. Shelly Murphy reminds us "Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards." This sentiment is similarly shared in James Baldwin's writings, captured in the 2016 documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, "History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history." Recognizing how parts of our history are infused in this place we call home and being intentional about how we represent and honor this place are very important conversations. Knowing our past, our leaders should be compelled to make difficult decisions that impact everyone in our community, not just the majority. Community identity must be unbiased and promote justice, truth, and most especially peace. |
authorSENK is an artist and writer in the Shenandoah Valley. The blog, 52 Weeks, is an ethical contemplation on the importance of choosing public school names that are not divisive within a community. Each post is based on over eight years of research by the author. 52 Weeks is a compassionate appeal to community and school board members to not revert to the names of Confederate leaders for Shenandoah County, Va, public schools. PostsGround Zero
52 / Remembering & Moving On 51 / Integration & Teachers 50 / In Our Own Community 49 / S J H S 48 / Not One Positive Step 47 / Maintaining Public Peace 46 / Brown v. Board 45 / Rebuilding a Pro-Confederate South 44 / An Out-of-area Education 43 / Where's the 'Common Sense Consideration'? 42 / Education Without Heart 41 / Self-Preservation 40 / Free Public Schools 39 / The Mask of Defiance 38 / The Golden Door of Freedom 37 / Prejudicial to our Race 36 / Are We Compassionate? 35 / Community 34 / Need for Radical Change 33 / Bitter Prejudice 32 / Fear of 'Negro Equality' 31 / Rachel, Lashed to Death 30 / The Whim of the Court: A Look at Jacob, Stacy, Lett; March & Peter; Jeffrey & Peter 29 / Ben, Tom, Ned, Clary, & two men from the furnace 28 / The Loss of Fortune 27 / James Scott, A Free Man 26 / The Unremembered, The Unheard 25 / The American Cause 24 / Tithables for the County & Parish 23 / Satisfactory Proof of Being Free 22 / Building Community Takes Trust 21 / Jacob's Case 20 / Whose Control? 19 / Racial Classifications 18 / The Cost of Freedom in 1840 17 / Sale of Children 16 / Bequeathal of Future Increase 15 / The First Annual 14 / From a Descendant of a CSA Soldier 13 / True Americanism 12 / Slavery. A Hot Topic. 11 / Real Character 10 / Real Apologies 9 / Freedom from Fear 8 / 250 Years 7 / The Courage of Christ 6 / Whose Narratives? 5 / The 13th Amendment 4 / Symbolic Act of Justice 3 / Giving Thanks 2 / Confederate Congress 1 / Veteran's Day |
