For those of us who have been following the antics of Museum of the
Confederacy President and CEO Waite Rawls since he assumed the reins at the
museum, and have repeatedly called for his removal, the sell-out of the museum
to the ultra PC "American Civil War Center at Tredegar" comes as no
surprise.
In 2007, Rawls made it clear that he was willing to sacrifice
even the name of the institution when he announced that along with a proposed
move, the name "Confederacy" was likely to disappear from the museum's title...
http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/07/museumconfed.htm
"Museum
President and CEO S. Waite Rawls III suggested that the name was negotiable. He
told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "The repositioning we've done over the past 30
years is to be more of a modern education institution and less of a memorial to
the Confederacy."
Although the name change was delayed a few years,
it appears as if he will finally get his wish to change the name...as well as
the Museum's original intent... with the recent liquidation.
From the
Museum of the Confederacy's website:
"Civil War Holdings, Inc. is the
temporary name of the joint partnership between the American Civil War Center
and the Museum of the Confederacy. When the two institutions joined forces in
the fall of 2013, a new Board of Directors was created, comprising members of
both former boards." Complete list here: http://www.moc.org/about-us/board-trustees
Those
of us in Richmond easily recognize the name of the Chairman of the new board,
Dr. Edward L. Ayers, as one who has, as a close personal friend and associate of
Mr. Rawls, been allowed unrestricted access and influence at the museum.
In November of this year, Dr. Ayers was a featured speaker at the
"Loving RVA" gathering in Richmond:
The main focus of this
gathering was to introduce a plan to "revitalize RVA". Details of the plan are
available here... http://lovingrva.com/index.html and include a
"slavery and freedom heritage site" http://lovingrva.com/HeritageSite.html , but not
surprisingly, NOT ONE MENTION of Richmond's rich Confederate history and
heritage:
"The Revitalize RVA Plan includes a very important
historical component. The Slavery and Freedom Heritage Site will be on the site
of the Lumpkins Slave Jail, which is across the train trestle from the proposed
commercial and residential development."
Ayers' public support of
this project, which COMPLETELY EXCLUDES any reference to Confederate history and
heritage in Richmond, is just ONE example of many, that leaves little doubt as
to the direction of this "new museum", under the leadership of Dr. Ayers, Mr.
Rawls, and Ms. Coleman.
**Catalog of the Confederate MEMORIAL Literary
Society: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000889186;view=1up;seq=1
Each item collected and lovingly donated by Veterans and their families
"In Memoriam Sempiternam".
"In Memoriam
Sempiternam"...or "In Eternal Memory" God help us when we stand before
these men and women one day and have to explain why WE, their sons and
daughters, stood quietly by and let this happen.
LEST WE
FORGET!
Grayson Jennings
Va Flaggers
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