In a discussion with a cyber friend off-blog today, I shared some of my thoughts about the idea of “Coming to the Table.”
As I believe I have stated in another post here, sometime ago, I have no descended-through-the-generations stories of slaveholding relating to my family, but I have thoughts as a genealogist who has found slaveholders in my lineal family tree and, more importantly, thoughts as an historian. I think the historian part of me keeps me grounded, and that’s a good thing. I think it helps me detach myself from my contemporary mindset, if that makes sense. It’s not a complete detachment, but it’s an “intent to be objective”. It might sound cold and emotionless, but that’s not the case.
I’ve had the opportunity (and great pleasure) to have conversations with a number of folks who are descended from enslaved peoples, from a direct descendant of Bethany Veney to a descendant of a soldier of the USCT. I sincerely cherish these discussions. Though they are not descended from people who my ancestors held in slavery, I do feel as if our discussions (often off-blog and sometimes not even related to blogging) serve as an instrument of healing, actually taking steps to “come to the table”. I’m not one who thinks I should apologize on behalf of ancestors. I think there is something wrong with that (just as much as there is something wrong with donning the “causes” of our ancestors’ in years past). When it comes to apologies, actually, who are we to judge our ancestors in this way and who are we to speak of our ancestors in this way? We serve ourselves and them better by making an effort to understand them and their time better, even though we will still fall short of complete understanding. Nonetheless, how can we apologize for our slaveholding ancestors if we did not have the advantage of knowing them and life as they knew it at the time in which they knew it? When it comes to “slave times”, there are many more layers of history since that time that taint and/or blur that vision of the past, as it existed in the past. To me, a more sincere effort at healing is a coming together in an understanding of what slavery was, how it led to other problems within our country, and how the memory of all of that continues to impact us today. We need to come together and find how we can move beyond it all, while at the same time acknowledging the past… not distorting it for some contemporary agendas that distract us from what “Coming to the Table” is all about.
Marilyn Marme
February 1, 2010
Not to be off-topic, but did you see the new Antiques Roadshow from Raleigh, NC? someone had a photo of his Confederate soldier ancestor and his slave together in a photograph, both in full uniform. It was weird (to me) that the appraiser kept saying “African” instead of “African American”. Also he mentioned the Confederate government approving/giving pensions to CSA veterans. Did the CSA government give pensions? I thought it was the states (after the War) who gave out CSA pensions. More on-topic the man mentioned that he had contacted the descendant of the slave in the photo and that they had become friends.
Robert Moore
February 2, 2010
I’m afraid that’s not at all accurate. It was the state governments, in years after the war, that granted pensions to Confederate soldiers. A separate pension system was developed for body servants, cooks, government workers, etc., but not until quite sometime after the veteran pensions came into being.
Sherree
February 3, 2010
Fascinating post, Robert.
I think that public apologies by governments are beneficial, in that those apologies acknowledge past injustices and offer new beginnings.
An apology by an individual, or by a family is quite a different matter, however, and should be left to the discretion of the descendants of those who were slaveholders and those who were enslaved. All too often a public spectacle ensues that has very little to do with racial healing.
There is a disturbing trend today to display the most intimate details of the private lives of both the living and the dead. The living can defend themselves. The dead cannot. As an extreme example, outside of the topic of rape, I find it difficult to understand how our knowledge of the past is enhanced by the revelation of the intimate sexual practices of Civil War soldiers–a topic to which one study was actually devoted.
The DeWolf family has done a great service for the nation and for race relations, in my opinion, since through the efforts of family members, a truly forgotten part of our nation’s past has been highlighted. That there was slavery in the North has been almost completely forgotten, except as an abstract notion that no longer matters. It does matter, because difficult race relations can be traced back to this cultural amnesia. There is no statute of limitations on morality.
As far as slavery in the South and slavery’s legacy; there is plenty of information available. (not that the existence and availability of this information deters Lost Cause adherents) It is not shocking to discover that there were slaveholders in the South, in other words. The path to healing is different, though, and I am not sure what it consists of. I know what it has consisted of in my own life, because I have lived it. But on a broader scale, I don’t.
I went to the “Come to the Table” link. One of the questions–”how did you feel when your parents fought integration?”–was very interesting to me, since my parents were out front in fighting for integration, not against it. (I am sure this is true for some participants in the Come to the Table initiative, as well. The difference is that I am from the South and I am not African American, so certain widely held assumptions might indicate otherwise.)
My point is that we are dealing with so many layers of stereotypes that it is almost impossible to communicate. That would seem a point of beginning: dispense with regional and racial stereotypes, and perhaps then we can begin to have a true conversation. Accurate history is at the center of that requirement, so, in that sense, I agree with you. I think that a website that offered to the general public basic information about the slave trade, slavery, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement–outside of academic theory debating these issues–would be very helpful. (If such a website exists, I am not aware of it.)
Basic facts are sobering. That there were roughly 35,000 slaving voyages that brought an estimated ten million Africans by force to the Americas is a fact that most Americans can grasp, and it is a fact that speaks to the enormity of the tragedy. White Northerners and white Southerners were both heavily involved in the slave trade, and, as the De Wolf family documents, just because a plantation was in Cuba, that does not mean that the plantation was not controlled by ancestors of Americans. The DeWolf family itself owned plantations in Cuba. Likewise, the fact that there were roughly four million slaves held by white Southerners at the beginning of the Civil War cannot allow any but the most inflexible of ideologues to continue to perpetuate the Lost Cause myth. In sum, as a constructive observation concerning academic debates, the heart of the message is often lost, and at times, accurate history is not portrayed due to the apparent need, by some, to win the debate. When that becomes the overriding emphasis, there are no winners, and yet another opportunity for true education is lost.
Phil G
February 5, 2010
Your reference to Bethany Veney popped out at me because my cousin in Virginia is married to a Veney. I wonder if he knows about this aspect of his family history?
Michael
March 16, 2010
Hi Robert. I am very fascinated by all of the research that you have done. I am currently trying to research my own roots, and I am wondering if you can help me. I am looking for someone in my family, most likely a slave, by the name of William H. Jasper. He was born in 1822, and was married to someone named Fannie E. Washington. That’s as far back as I could get, but ancestry.com also says that he was from Marksville District (East Part) in Page, VA. Where do I go next. I am a novice at this, but you seem to have a thorough understanding of the history of the area. I’d love to get your expertise!
Robert Moore
March 18, 2010
Hi Michael, Do you recall the census year that you could last make a trace to Jasper, and were Jasper and Fannie Washington married in Page? If married before the war, I imagine they don’t show in the county marriage records, but I’m interested in looking into this a bit.
Sha Jackson
November 16, 2010
Hello Robert,
I appreciate your post. I work for an organization based at Eastern Mennonite University called Coming to the Table. Since CTTT language was sprinkled throughout this entry, I wondered if you knew that we existed right in your backyard.
Best,
Sha
Robert Moore
November 16, 2010
Hi Sha, Yes, I did read something about the CTTT on the Web. What activities do you have upcoming?