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Let me tell you about five numbers that haunt me: 35, 40, 30, 20, and 15 — the ages of five slaves recorded in the Slave Schedule of the 1850 Federal Census.
A THREAD 1/
A THREAD 1/
I say these are their ages, but look at the 5-year increments of the numbers and you can almost see the dismissiveness in them. Whoever was recording the existence of these five human beings didn’t care enough about them to get their ages right. 2/
35, 40, 30, 20, and — “that one is really young” — 15.
It’s a hand-wave at humanity.
And to my knowledge we know nothing more about them. 3/
It’s a hand-wave at humanity.
And to my knowledge we know nothing more about them. 3/
There were 3,204,313 slaves in America just 160 years ago. All deserve remembrance. But I will focus on these five black men — five human beings — because they were then owned by the Military Academy of South Carolina. That institution, now branded The Citadel, is my employer. 4/
I don’t speak on the school’s behalf, but I can assure you The Citadel is not now pro-slavery!
Nevertheless, our history is bound to the history of slavery. And I am heartened that the institution has a project aimed at understanding what that means.
https://www.citadel.edu/root/universities-slavery-project
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Nevertheless, our history is bound to the history of slavery. And I am heartened that the institution has a project aimed at understanding what that means.
https://www.citadel.edu/root/universities-slavery-project
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Why is our history bound to slavery?
For starters, the Military Academy began as a reaction to the attempted slave rebellion led by Denmark Vesey, a founding member of the Emanuel AME Church.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Vesey
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For starters, the Military Academy began as a reaction to the attempted slave rebellion led by Denmark Vesey, a founding member of the Emanuel AME Church.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Vesey
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(If that church sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the one in which a white supremacist murdered 9 African-American worshippers to try to start a race war in 2015.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting
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On January 9, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by Citadel cadets when they turned back a steamer bringing supplies to Fort Sumter. The ship was the Star of the West. Today, one of our highest cadet honors is named for it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_West
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_West
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In early December, 1864, the entire corps of cadets fought off Union forces at the battle of Tulifinny — one of 8 battles in which cadets fought in service of the Confederacy. We have a huge mural to it in the library.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tulifinny
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tulifinny
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The Citadel was reopened in 1882, and its graduates have fought for the United States in every subsequent war. We are proud of that fact. We honor those who’ve given themselves over — at times to the last full measure — in service to our country.
https://citadel.edu/root/brief-history
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https://citadel.edu/root/brief-history
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But the history is still there. The Confederacy is all around us on campus. Our stadium is named for a Confederate. Four of our five barracks — the buildings our diverse student body calls home — honor Confederates. 11/
A Confederate Naval Jack hangs in our chapel. It was made, we think, in RI in the 1920s or 30s, no more a relic of Confederate history than the Dukes of Hazard car. But it’s there, because past generations believed it was important to have it there. 12/
Our admin voted to remove it in 2015, but the SC Attorney General said that doing so without 2/3 approval from the legislature would violate SC’s Heritage Act.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess113_1999-2000/bills/4895.htm
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https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess113_1999-2000/bills/4895.htm
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Without funding from that legislature, we cannot continue our mission to educate principled leaders for America. So the flag is still there. The names on the buildings are still there.
It’s *all* still there.
https://www.live5news.com/story/29391978/citadel-votes-to-remove-confederate-naval-jack-from-campus-chapel/
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It’s *all* still there.
https://www.live5news.com/story/29391978/citadel-votes-to-remove-confederate-naval-jack-from-campus-chapel/
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I hope the SC State Legislature will revoke the Heritage Act. I know @KimpsonForSC and other state leaders are trying to make that happen. I hope they persevere and give us control over our own campus.
https://twitter.com/kimpsonforsc/status/1273062917370413056?s=21
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https://twitter.com/kimpsonforsc/status/1273062917370413056?s=21
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Statues, names on buildings … these things don’t preserve our history. That notion has always been a red herring.
What they preserve is what we *honor* in our history. 16/
What they preserve is what we *honor* in our history. 16/
Some folks are scared of change. But allowing things to stay as they are isn’t a passive act — it’s an *active* statement.
The status quo says we still honor that flag, those statues, those names on buildings. 17/
The status quo says we still honor that flag, those statues, those names on buildings. 17/
Our main education building on campus — named for two Confederate leaders — is scheduled to be replaced soon. When a new one is built, featuring a magnificent atrium honoring the American flag, I hope our school has the freedom to give it a new name. 18/
I’ve suggested William Harvey Carney: born a slave, he was a sergeant for the 54th Mass Volunteers when they assaulted the Confederates at Fort Wagner here in Charleston. He earned a Medal of Honor for his actions in defense of our flag that day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Harvey_Carney
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Harvey_Carney
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Another of my colleagues has suggested Marine 2nd Lt Almar Fitzgerald, the first black graduate of The Citadel to sacrifice his life for the country. He also saved the lives of six strangers by being an organ donor after his 2006 death in Iraq.
https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/marine-2nd-lt-almar-l-fitzgerald/1556672
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https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/marine-2nd-lt-almar-l-fitzgerald/1556672
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No doubt many other names could be added to the list — men and women who better reflect the values of Honor, Duty, and Respect that we at The Citadel hold dear today. 21/
I hope that the forces in our state who still wish to actively honor the Confederacy are not too much to overcome. I hope we can live for today and not the past.
But if we can’t, if we’re stuck with these symbols of our past, then I hope we can add at least one more: 22/
But if we can’t, if we’re stuck with these symbols of our past, then I hope we can add at least one more: 22/
Let’s put up a memorial on campus to the five men — ages 35, 40, 30, 20, and 15 — who can serve to remind us all of how far we’ve come and how much further we still have to go.
They are, after all, part of our past, too.
23/END
They are, after all, part of our past, too.
23/END
Thanks for reading.
(Folks plug their stuff at the end of these things and, yeah, I have books you can buy if you like fantasy novels or medieval history… but really I hope you just go do good things for other people in the world.)
(Folks plug their stuff at the end of these things and, yeah, I have books you can buy if you like fantasy novels or medieval history… but really I hope you just go do good things for other people in the world.)
