WASHINGTON — It was just a few short years ago that the city of Charlottesville’s began making national news headlines. Once known simply as a sleepy little college town, it became a flash point in an ongoing struggle between those who wish to advance the causes of civil rights and dignities, and those who wish to honor ancestors from another time.
On Tuesday, another move in this ongoing chess game takes place with the celebration of a new holiday, Liberation and Freedom Day, which has been established to commemorate the day when Union troops arrived in Charlottesville, Va. freeing the enslaved on March 3, 1865.
This city will now be recognizing this day yearly, instead of native son and founding father Thomas Jefferson’s spring birthday.
This decision, like ones made there and across the country to remove Confederate monuments or to rename streets and parks, has been met with push back.
I can't imagine the mental gymnastics it takes to support Confederate memorials because, "it preserves history," but not favor Liberation and Freedom Day.
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Regardless of where you stand on Confederate memorials, there should be no denying that the freeing of the slaves is something that should be celebrated, not just in Charlottesville, but everywhere. That it isn't omits a large part of our history. Unless that's the part of history you don't want to be told.
By recognizing the significance of Tuesday's date, the city of Charlottesville has shown themselves to be willing to have this talk. Now, are the rest of us?
