Middle Passage Monument

Monument's placement upsets some

A new monument about the slave trade is crowding a statue of a Confederate hero on the state Capitol grounds, and members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans say it should be moved.

The comment is the latest clash between two groups, each fighting to commemorate its heritage.

Supporters of the new monument say it is there to remind all Americans of the "African holocaust" known as the Middle Passage.

Gene Andrews, former commander of the Sam Davis Camp 1293 Sons of Confederate Veterans, called the monument's placement "a foolish little sophomoric prank."

Members of the state legislature's Black Caucus dedicated a black granite block earlier this month to remember those who lived through and died during the Middle Passage, a leg of the Atlantic voyage by which slaves were shipped to the Americas.

A Scarlet Oak planted nearby represents "the strength and resilience of people of African descent," the plaque says.

Fifteen feet away stands the statue of Sam Davis, arms folded, eyes looking southwest toward the state offices.

Davis, a Smyrna native and the "boy hero" of the Confederacy, was part of a cavalry called Coleman's Scouts that gathered information on enemy troop movement and transported documents for the Confederate Army.

He was captured in 1863, charged with spying and carrying mail to people in arms against the United States and was sentenced to hang. He chose to die rather than betray who gave him papers found on him during a search.

James Turner, a national board member of SCV, said the Middle Passage monument contains information that is inaccurate and because it does not have a direct connection to Tennessee's history ought to be moved.

The group will ask the state legislature to order it moved, said Ronny Mangrum, the state SCV's heritage violation chairman.

The caucus is "trying to rewrite history," Andrews said.

"It's a race group, a racist hate group, and that was their attempt at a put-down of Confederate Americans."

"There was no intent to disrespect a Confederate soldier or have it overshadow him in any way," countered Lori Bradford, a former intern with state Sen. John Ford's office, who wrote the Middle Passage monument's inscription.

Her sources for the plaque's information include publications and a dissertation by W.E.B. DuBois, as well as the work of several historians, she said.

State Rep. Henri Brooks, D-Memphis, who chairs the Black Caucus, said the group chose the southwest lawn location because it was accessible to the public and suitable for the tree. A horticulturist suggested a place with good drainage and lots of light, she said.

"Tennessee should be proud that we have taken a step forward in terms of acknowledging the contributions and the heritage and history of all of the ethnic groups in this state," Brooks said.

"This is a very important step forward in terms of the African-American community and the healing process. Individuals who came to this country via the Middle Passage were brought here for slavery."

Her advice to the Sons of Confederate Veterans: "Get over it."

Earlier this year, the legislature's House Calendar and Rules Committee killed a bill that would have created specialty license plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Shortly after, the committee approved plans for three plates honoring African-American history.

The plates commemorate black history, the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A RESOLUTION to honor and commemorate the Africans who died in the Middle Passage.

      WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should pause to honor those who have made exemplary contributions to the history of our great state and this nation; and

      WHEREAS, the Tennessee Black Caucus desires to lead the citizenry
of Tennessee in commemorating the Africans who died in the Middle Passage; and

      WHEREAS, the Middle Passage signifies the journey of millions of Africans sold or taken from their native land by slave traders across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World to suffer more than 2 centuries of enslavement; and

      WHEREAS, African men, women and children were often chained and wedged horizontally in the cargo spaces of slave ships to assure that slave traders carried the largest cargo possible; and

      WHEREAS, it is estimated that between 10 and 100 million Africans died in the Middle Passage as the result of epidemics, starvation, suicide, mutiny and murder by ship crews; and

      WHEREAS, despite the immense loss of African lives, millions survived the Middle Passage tragedy to endure the horrors of slavery; and

      WHEREAS, the Middle Passage was an African holocaust that should remain etched in the hearts and minds of all Americans to ensure that no such atrocity reoccurs in human history; and

      WHEREAS, the pain and devastation of the institution of slavery should not be a source of shame for African Americans, but instead a source of pride of all Americans for the artisans, craftsman, agriculturists, teachers and skilled workers stolen from their homelands to help build this nation we proudly proclaim as the United States; and

      WHEREAS, the Tennessee Black Caucus desires to commemorate and pay homage to those Africans whose lives were lost in the Middle Passage by planting an oak tree on the southwest lawn of the Tennessee State Capitol along with a plaque describing this painful aspect of African American history in a positive light of reverence. The oak tree will serve as a representation of the strength and resilience of the African people; and

      WHEREAS, as the state of Tennessee was a slave-holding state in the antebellum south, commemoration of the Middle Passage and those who died would serve as a symbol of remembrance and respect; and

      WHEREAS, this commemoration would benefit the psychological welfare of the Tennessee population, which has been adversely affected by the occurrence of the institution of slavery and is concurrent with a national memorial statute which will be dropped in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean this year, with a replica of the statute being placed on the shores of the Atlantic in New York City; and

      WHEREAS, it is imperative that the citizenry of this state and country gain an appreciation of the rich history of all cultures that have contributed to this great nation; now,therefore,

      BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That we hereby honor those Africans who died during the Middle Passage and commemorate their strength and resilience.

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we support the Tennessee Black Caucus in the planting of an oak tree along with a plaque on the lawn of the Tennessee State Capitol as a symbol of remembrance and respect.

Re-Writing History

by Henry Walker, Reporter - In Review

Starting in "1444," almost 50 years before Columbus, European slave traders carried "upwards of 100 million" African slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas – or so says the engraved plaque on Capitol Hill’s newest monument, featured in last Wednesday’s Tennessean.

This "history" is fraudulent, of course, as several people pointed out to Tennessean reporter Monica Whitaker. But Whitaker’s story ignored the errors, focusing instead on a largely non-existent controversy about whether the monument should have been placed 20 feet from the statue of Confederate hero Sam Davis.

Whitaker is the paper’s "diversity" reporter, assigned to cover minorities that mainstream newspapers have historically ignored. Today, it’s a popular beat at politically correct newspapers like The Tennessean

But there’s a problem. The kind of reporter who’s motivated to take on the diversity assignment isn’t likely to communicate so well with conservative white guys.

You don’t need to explain that to Gene Andrews, James Turner or Ronny Mangrum, all members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Whitaker called each one about the new memorial to Africans who died during the trans-Atlantic crossing, now called the "Middle Passage." (It’s called the Middle Passage because many slaves were carried first to the African coast, then to the Caribbean, and finally to ports in North, Central and South America.)

All three men said they told Whitaker they objected to the memorial being placed on Capitol Hill both because of the historical errors and because the Middle Passage had little to do with Tennessee.

"I begged her to put in her story about the date being wrong," Turner said. "I even asked her if she remembered the poem about Columbus discovering America in 1492. But she wouldn’t respond."

The three also told Whitaker that the "100 million" figure is equally wrong. Modern historians estimate that about nine to 15 million Africans were carried to the Americas.

Whitaker’s article left all that out. Instead, her story focused on complaints that the memorial is too close to the Davis statue, an issue the SCV members told her wasn’t important.

Whitaker wrote that Turner believed the memorial "contained inaccurate information" but that the plaque's author, former legislative intern Lori Bradford, stood by her research.

Apparently, that was enough for Whitaker, whose story didn’t raise any difficult questions about Columbus. Whitaker’s story also failed to mention that the reporter called Herbert Harper, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Commission, who told Whitaker that SCV members weren’t the only ones raising questions about the accuracy of the monument’s inscription.

The idea for the monument apparently came from Bradford herself, an intern in the office of state Sen. John Ford. "It was all her baby," a Ford staffer said. First, she pushed through a non-binding resolution, supported by the Legislature's Black Caucus, calling for a Capitol Hill monument to the Middle Passage.

Bradford then asked the THC to erect a marker inscribed with the text she had written. The commission declined, according to Harper, both because of questions about the accuracy of Bradford’s script and because the issue had no direct connection to Tennessee.

Next, the caucus took Bradford’s script to the Capitol Commission, which has jurisdiction over monuments on Capitol Hill. The commission voted on May 7 to approve the memorial despite questions about the inscription. Two historians on the commission abstained, one explaining that she "is sticky when it comes to history."

Bradford may have swayed some commission members by submitting a list of 13 footnotes, including titles, authors, and even page numbers, to support the inscription. But the footnotes prove that Bradford's "facts" are wrong.

The "1444" date refers to an incident in which Portuguese sailors captured a dozen Africans and sold them as slaves in Portugal. It has nothing to do with the Middle Passage, which, Bradford's sources say, began in the early 16th century.

Bradford’s sources also explain that about nine to 15 million slaves were carried from Africa to the New World. The only reference to "100 million" was a sentence by W.E.B. DuBois talking about the economic and social effect of the slave trade on Africans left behind. DuBois himself estimated that about 15 million slaves were carried to the Americas.

Finally, Bradford’s inscription states that "one-third to one-half" of the slaves died during the Middle Passage. But the only source she cites to support that figure states that estimates range from "13 percent to 33 percent."

Commission Chairman and state Sen. Doug Henry said the commission didn’t necessarily approve Bradford’s specific language but ordered only that the "placement of a suitable marker and plaque be coordinated with the state architect, [Mike Fitts]." When I asked Fitts how the trans-Atlantic slave trade could have started half-a-century before Columbus, he paused a very long time.

"Well, no one on the commission focused on that," he finally answered.

Bradford referred all my questions to Dr. Ray Winbush, director of the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University. Winbush, who has a degree in psychology, said he stands behind Bradford’s research and would cite supporting documentation in a letter to the editor he promised to write after this article appears.

To comment or complain about the media or to leave a message for Henry, call him at his office (252-2363) or send an e-mail to hwalker@bccb.com.

A monument to poor research?
A new Capitol Hill plaque to educate Tennesseans about the tragedy of the slave trade states Europeans were selling African slaves here in 1444. That's 48 years before Columbus discovered the New World. And there apparently are other inaccuracies. What should be done with this monument?

Leave it alone	5%
Make corrections, leave it where it is	41%
Take it away never to return	55%

Opinions:
By: Shotgun on 1999-07-29
As Will Rogers once said, "It's not what you know that bothers me, it's what you know that you don't know." I guess the "D" word will be coming into play very soon!

By: BenDover on 1999-07-29
Unfortunately historical inaccuracies litter both sides of this issue. The pendulum has simply swung to the other side now. I wish someone would publish an account of the facts without their polarized opinions.

It is a farce to allow our school children to visit the capital and view this political propaganda as historic fact. A marker should be put up using this monument as an illustration of political propaganda.

By: Bwatson on 1999-07-29
BenDover it is very easy to say, "Unfortunately historical inaccuracies litter both sides of this issue". What we see here in this Monument is obviously not correct. You are implying that the other side (you did not say who the other side is - I guess you mean members of the SCV or anyone concern with Southern Heritage, or maybe you mean anyone concerned with correct history markers.) has put up this type of marker in the past. Why don't you give an example, if you know of one.

By: BenDover on 1999-07-29
I guess I was referring to the absence, more than inaccuracy, of history with respect to slavery, oppression, discrimination and things like the Jim Crow laws. None of these things were taught to the well sheltered public; and in that right, calculated omission is as horrible as a lie. It is only in the past 30 years that the pendulum has swung; and it has swung with vengeance. From Alex Haley's fictitious account of his heritage and the evil slave traders (who, in reality, bought most of the slaves from tribe elders; and did not chase them down with nets in the savanna) to the reinvention of the reason for the civil war: No, the civil war was not a slavery issue as the current PC text books and media would have you believe; the civil war was over individual states rights... landowners had, years before, determined that it was cheaper to hire labor than to own and care for slaves; and slavery was already on the way out. The southern states just resented being told how and when this would be accomplished. In truth the Civil War did more to harm the slavery/freedom issue by polarizing the country... though your history, written by the victors, will never acknowledge this. Remember it was Boston who had the last school segregation issue; and if geography serves me that's a little north of the Mason Dixon line. I guess my statement above was an attempt at eloquence in a situation where eloquence is not allowed. My apologies... The only answer is for people to stop beleiving everything they read and actually dig in for the facts.

By: newsdisk on 1999-07-29
Ms. Monica Whitaker did not correctly present the story. That's OK, Ms. Willie Mae McLaurine, a reporter for the Nashville P*R*I*D*E newspaper, did not present the story correctly either. In a front page story of the July 16, 1999 issue of Nashville P*R*I*D*E, Ms. McLaurine appears to have been present at the July 8, 1999 dedication. It also appears that Ms. McLaurine did not read the inscription.
Ms. McLaurine's story gives the dates of the Middle Passage as 1501 - 1865. She also writes that, "65 to 100 million Africans were captured to be enslaved in South America, North America and the Caribbean,.."

Ms. McLauren's article is a very good article, minus a accurate description of the monument, although few people read it. Ms. Whitaker's article is not a good article but many people read it. The public is left with the impression that this is a turf battle over two monuments.

Mr. Walker's article is accurate. I looked for it in today's Tennessean, but it wasn't there. Perhaps it will be in tomorrows issue with the results of the poll.

By: judy on 1999-07-29
What I dislike about the sudden, obscessive interest in slavery is the way it is used to artificially engender white guilt, as well as to speciously justify judicially enforced white discrimination/ black preferencing in every venue of human endeavor. The idea that _a color judgement_ may be used to condemn and politically penalize all white people for the actions of either white slavers or white segregationists is the use, not the remedy, of the stereotypes of racist hate, and is the very epitome of injustice, as well.