GDG- NPS & slavery

[Charles T. Joyce]

Forgive me, but for someone who professes to be "tired of the
...overemphasis on slavery" you certainly seem to be unable to let the
subject go.  We all get it:  the Arlington Cemetery Tourmobile tour was,
you think, skewed toward an Afro-American-centric view of American
History.  Can we move on now?  Do I have to read about it again, and
again?

-----Original Message-----
From: gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com
[mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com] On Behalf Of CWMHTours at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 3:30 PM
To: gettysburg at arthes.com
Subject: Re: GDG- NPS & slavery

Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
I must apologize for failing to adequately communicate.   My fault 
(Sincerely)
 
The tour script of Tourmobile was overseen by the  NPS.   Every word of
it.
 
NPS put "spies" on the trams to ensure that we were doing what  they 
wanted.  Actually I don't have all that much of a problem with being
spied on.
 
As for being 20 years ago that is a reference when I worked on  a daily 
basis at Tourmobile being overseen by the NPS.
 
I have mentioned, in my faulty way, that the phenomenon was  still 
occuring.  Last spring I was standing by the Tourmobile stop at  the
Kennedys 
waiting for a group to return.  A Tourmoblie came up.   Open air.  Heard
the guy 
mention Thurgood Marshall in the Supreme Court  section but none of the
other 
Justices or Hyman Rickover.
 
The tram stops.  People get off.  People get  on.  Tram pulls out and he

starts talking.
 
Over there is Daniel Chappie James, etc.  Thank God the  next guy was 
Richard E Byrd.
 
I was standing right in front of Robert Eichelberger.  I  could see Bull

Halsey and Charles Wilkes.   Wouldn't tourists want to  see the grave of
the 
man who discovered a whole continent?  Or the admiral  who sent
Doolittle 
over Tokyo?  Or McArthur's right hand man in WW  II?
 
They didn't get mentioned.  Chappie James's 4 stars were  mentioned.
But 
there are 100s of 4-star generals in Arlington who did more  important 
things.  Like Eichelberger. 
 
All I know about the Gettysburg Visitor Center is what people  have told
me 
and what I have read in publications like Civil War News.   Because of
the 
complaints and criticisms I have heard I have avoided the  place.  I am 
tired of the NPS over emphasis on slavery.  I'd rather  spend my money
on French 
Onion Soup at the Dobbin House.
 
Your  Most Obedient Servant,
Peter  

 
In a message dated 1/4/2012 2:24:34 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
denlaw at gojade.org writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:

>My complaint, if you had comprehended it  correctly, is  that in 1992
when 
I
>worked for the  NPS/Tourmobile  the NPS had  a deliberate program  of
>over-emphasizing African-Americans and slavery  over other  topics 
>that were even
>morre important.
>
>Are you  getting that?  If there is a scale of  "importance" in terms
of  
the
>people buried  there then many people who were  not  African-American
were
>not mentioned because the NPS MANDATED that   we talk about the lesser
>important Blacks.  We were   REPRIMANDED if we didn't talk about 
>Chappie James and
>instead  talked about Bull  Halsey and Charles Wilkes.
>
>And the same  program appears to be going on at the Gettysburg  V.C.

Hi,  Peter,

I think part of the reason you are getting blowback  on this is 
that you are talking about a training that is almost 20 years  ago and 
then saying the same thing is going on at Gettysburg.  It all  comes 
across as a sweeping generalization based on your experience that is  
not connected to Gettysburg, almost 20 years later, and ignoring the  
fact that GNMP  is operating under  a specific federal mandate  of 
interpretation, not tourmobile rules.

The training you had does  sound misguided, but what evidence do you 
have there is any connection to  the presentation at Gettysburg? Are 
you privy to training or details of  the presentation at Gettysburg 
that you can share?

Take  Care

Dennis



>



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