Last week, Governor Bob McDonnell apologized for his omission of slavery in this year’s “Confederate History Month” proclamation.
“My major and unacceptable omission of slavery disappointed and hurt a lot of people, myself included,” McDonnell said at a conference at Norfolk State University on the impact of slavery and the Civil War on race relations. “Young people make mistakes, and I suppose sometimes young administrations do as well. Ours was an error of haste and not of heart. And it is an error that will be fixed.”
McDonnell knows that promoting the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War is an important component of Virginia’s tourism marketing plan for the next five years. So, talking about the conflict, and the circumstances that led to it (a topic that still inflames passions), is unavoidable. Unlike former governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner who stuck their heads-in-the-sand over the subject, McDonnell is taking head-on the “tough stuff” of Virginia’s heritage, and trying to do it the right way.
The governor said that next year he will write a “Civil War History Month” proclamation that will encapsulate all of our history. “It will remember all Virginians — free and enslaved; Union and Confederate. It will be written for all Virginians,” he said.
The suggestion to change the name of the proclamation from “Confederate” to “Civil War” was proposed by Doug Mataconis of Below the Beltway earlier this year. At the time of the initial uproar over the omission, Mataconis wrote:
Instead of just marking the state’s association with a nation with a checkered history, such a month could be a method of remembering the pivotal historic role that the Old Dominion, and it’s citizens, played in the most pivotal event in the history of America. Virginia was, after all, the site of more Civil War battles than any other state, including both the first and the final battles of that war. Moreover, such a month could also serve to remember the Virginian’s who fought for, or otherwise supported, the Union while living in enemy territory; including those Virginian’s who decided to secede from their home state altogether.
McDonnell’s recognition that Virginia’s heritage in the Civil War is much broader in scope than just the Confederacy is an important step at ensuring the focus of the next five years is not on reliving what so bitterly divided this country and state, but on the entire tapestry of our rich, interwoven history; a history full of duty, honor, and sacrifice from all who lived through it; a complete history that should be recognized, remembered, and revered; a history where we can focus on what brings us together.
“You can only respect him for it. He didn’t have to bring it up,” said Norfolk State staffer Beverly Boone Harris. “He could have gone about the business of the day and who would have said something?” (Daily Press)
By facing his obligations and mistakes as Virginia’s governor head-on, McDonnell, once again, has shown his ability to lead and transform the Commonwealth. Whether it’s a VDOT audit, or an historical proclamation, McDonnell’s approach to governing is the same: be accountable and do it right.
What McDonnell did in this circumstance is beyond the subject of race relations or “the recent unpleasantness” between states – he demonstrated to us a lesson in life: recognize when an error has been made, reform, and reconcile.
