GDG- NPS & slavery

Tue Jan 3 19:28:51 CST 2012

Well you are correct in all your points.

Yes it is only decent to tell their story as a part of the  whole story.

Is neglecting- deliberately- other, perhaps more important,  parts of the 
story in favor of overemphasizing slavery and African-Americans at  the 
expense of other significant stories OK with you?

 Are you concerned about proportion and putting slavery  in it's (ugly) 
appropriate place?

I wrote a previous post about being trained by  the NPS/Tourmobile in 1992. 
 Did you read it? 

Your  Most Obedient Servant,
Peter  

In a message dated 1/3/2012 8:06:40 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
ATMackeyJr at aol.com writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
Someone's purpose in touring Arlington would be  determined, in many cases, 

by historical ignorance, no?  With  apologies to Rummy, we don't know what  
we don't know.   Arlington was the home of quite a number of enslaved   
Americans.  In my opinion, it's only decent to tell their story as  part of 
 the 
story of the whole plantation/cemetery.

Best  Regards,
Al Mackey

In a message dated 1/2/2012 6:42:06 P.M.  Eastern Standard Time,  
CWMHTours at aol.com  writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
My issue is  simple-  you have some  250,000-300,000 people  buried in Arl  
Cem.

Some of them did  things far more important worth  mentioning  that aren't 
where as some  slavery related issues  are,  "over  emphasized".

In 20 years  I've never met or  heard of anyone going to Arl Cem  to learn 
about   slavery.

It has it's place.  But not beyond the proportion  to  the  population.  

G. Washington owned most of  Arlington Cnty  and much of the  rest of No. 
VA 

I wudda  liked to have heard him  talked about him a lot more  and his  
grandson who built the  mansion.

That's all.  In analogy  to the Gtysbg V.C. I think it  is  exaggerated far 
beyond it's  importance and  relevence.

Your  Most Obedient  Servant,
Peter

In  a message dated 1/2/2012 6:32:43  P.M. Eastern Standard Time,   
jlawrence at kc.rr.com  writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member   Contributes:
Well,

You know, when there are slave   quarters  behind the Lee mansion in 
Arligton 
and the two slain  Kennedy   brotheres (both strong civil rights advocates) 
are  
buried there, I do  not  see your  issue.

Regards,

Jack

My favorite  historical  site  at Arlington is in the back. The Confederate 

memorial  (the one that the  SCV claims shows armed slaves fighting  for 
the  
south but really does not)  is in the back with the  Confederate  graves. 
right 
outside the gravel  maintenance parking  lot.  And behind the USCT burial 
sites.

Seems  kind of   appropriate.

HOOK.

----- Original Message -----   
From:  <CWMHTours at aol.com>
To:   <gettysburg at arthes.com>
Sent:  Monday, January 02, 2012  4:45  PM
Subject: GDG- NPS &  slavery

>  Esteemed GDG Member  Contributes:
>  RE:  The emphasize  on slavery and emancipation  at   battlefields sites 
it  
> is
> not just the   battlefields.
>
> In  1992 I began as a tourguide working as  a  narrator on the   
Tourmobile
> Trams in Wash, DC.   There was,  to me  anyway, a rather bizarre 
> over-emphasis  on
> slavery  on  the tours.
>
> In particular Arlington  Cemetery  demanded that in  our "script"  that we
> make "X"   number of references to slavery  and    African-Americans.
>
> Tourmobile was a contracted   service  vendor to the NPS which  dictated 
the
> content  of T's   tours.
>
> I really have no objection at all to  making  such   references.  But
> currently  Afro-African  Americans are 10%-15% of  the  population and  
they 
>  deserve
> appropriate   attention.
>
> But if you ask me  I think the proportion was  way  out of whack  when it 
>  came
> to the  issue.
>
>  And most citizens know almost  nothing of  the history of the  cemetery  
and
> the   plantation.
>
> I am convinced IMO that there was  less   emphasis on George  Washington, 
for
> example, and  his   descendents there that there should have  been while  
>   slave
> and African-Americans were   over-emphasized.
>
>  There were plenty of other things  there  that could have been   
mentioned.
> Had not  slavery and A-A's  been emphasized I think all  things   
considered 
>  much
> more important stuff was  omitted  while we talked about  slavery  and 
A-A's.
>  Take the issue of race  out of it  and they were topics far  less  
important
> than other    things.
>
> I can't imagine how many people visit Arl Cem  for  a  dose of  slave 
history
> but it must be   practically  none.
>
> Where the motivation for this  emphasis  comes from I  don't  know.  But 
then
>  again I have  learned to be no admirer  of the   NPS.
>
> I have never  been in the VC at Gtysbg.    I have heard  about the 
emphasis  
> on
> slavery in  there and  have avoided the  place.
>
> Who in their  right mind comes to  Gettysburg to  learn about   slavery?
>
> Your  Most  Obedient  Servant,
>  Peter
>    
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