(This opinion by Chris Edwards and Robin McNallie is in response to a request for members’ feedback from Bernie Mathes, our delegate to the Jefferson District meeting May 1):
If our UU district drops Thomas Jefferson’s name, we will put ourselves in the company of those on the Texas Board of Education who plan to downsize his place in that state’s school curriculum! Late-night comedians may have fun with that, but we think it’s a bad idea.
TJ was a complicated, flawed figure who shared in the evils of his time and place (owning slaves, though opposing slavery). History is filled with complicated and flawed people (like, maybe, all of us) — and that includes those who make outstanding contributions to humankind. Such as Jefferson.
If for nothing else, he deserves to be honored by UU’s for his authorship of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (for its text, see http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/jefferson_vsrf.html).
A post by the American Humanist Association reads, “The Virginia statute was nothing more or less than the statutory precursor to the guarantee of religious freedom contained in the First Amendment to our federal Constitution. Noted historian Henry Steele Commager called the Virginia statute “probably the most famous single document in the history of religious freedom in America.”
This freedom is enshrined in Unitarian Universalist principles and especially needs our support and promotion now, with the rise of theocracy movements in our country and the world.
In Texas, ironically, the NY Times reports that the education board plans “to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among conservatives on the board because he coined the term ‘separation between church and state.’)”
Is this company we want to keep?
Better choices might include our District adopting a hyphenated name, pairing Jefferson with an inspiring leader of color. Or, how about considering approaches to reconciling our nation’s polarized communities? We could check out the “Coming to the Table” movement, which has brought together descendants of slaves and slave-owners, starting with the Jefferson and Hemings families, to promote understanding and dialogue (and has a base in Harrisonburg): see http://www.comingtothetable.org/about/history/. The UU community certainly needs to become more multicultural (as UU World articles have called for). Let’s look for positive, meaningful ways.
Chris and Robin
I voted against the first proposal to change the name of the TJ District, but I truly don’t know how I will vote this time. My first impulse was to launch an initiative for Towne-Jefferson (so we could keep the same initials) to also honor Laura Towne, but she is a white woman, so this might not be the best solution either. And, there is another possibility: pairing the black UU minister suggested by the Board with Jefferson, which would make it the Jefferson-Jordan district.
However, someone in our congregation suggested that one of the purposes of the district name is to tell people where it is, so she prefers the locational name, Atlantic Southeast District. I’ve become convinced that this might be the best option overall. Besides, if the UUA decides to go from districts to regions, which I understand is a possibility, the question will become moot.
Pat
Jefferson-Jordan might be a good choice.
I’m opposed to the name change. The name is honorable and historic. TJ was a complex man. Unitarians are supposed to honor complexity and ambiguity.
We honor him for his landmark Statute for Religious Freedom of 1779 which forged the way for us to be free to be Unitarians, or anything else we choose.
It is an error to judge historical figures by contemporary standards. We might as well opt for kindness, if we want future generations not to revile us for our blatant stupidities.
We cannot and should not white wash history. When we begin expunging heroes from our record, who will finally pass the purity test? Slavery is a shameful stain on our history, but where are our stainless heroes? Martin Luther King was apparently something of a womanizer. Should we rename avenues all over the country in feminist outrage?
A note of closure (or sort of closure) for those who haven’t heard: We’re remaining the Thomas Jefferson District for now. At the convention on May 1, the vote to change the name didn’t get the required super-majority.
I for one hope UU’s find new and more relevant issues to address when the next such convention rolls around, but it was good to have this dialogue. I hope more HUU members & friends use the Community Cafe.
My husband Les and I will be moving to Harrisonburg in July so we were delighted to meet Bernie at the TJ meeting last weekend. Though I didn’t get a chance to state my opposition to the name change, I sent the following note to Jim Key (District Board President) because my reasons were a little different from most I’ve heard. Thought you all might be interested.
” Dear Jim,
The weekend at Penn Center was intense but worthwhile. I know you were deeply disappointed by the vote and since I was not able to give my reasons due to lack of time, I want to express them now in the hope that you will understand why our delegation voted the way we did.
I found myself pondering the words of the great Teacher and wondering if I were sufficiently without sin to cast a stone at Thomas Jefferson. He knew he “had a wolf by the ears” and feared letting it go. I too keep creations, which while not human, do for me what Jefferson’s slaves did for him and I don’t have the moral fiber to let them go. I keep them working although I know that soon they and all our fossil fuel powered labor-saving devices will wreak havoc on the entire planet and on a huge number of people, most of them poor people of color.
But I won’t go back to washing my own clothes in Twelve Mile Creek any more than Jefferson would. I won’t live by sun and candlelight and I probably wouldn’t have walked from the station to the Penn Center even if Amtrak went to Beaufort from Clemson.
While my granddaughter is not of mixed race like your new grandchild (or any more so than the majority of UUs are), I will have to face her and say I didn’t do enough to save her future. I won’t have to say, however, that I thought myself morally superior to the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.
In my opinion, global climate change is the moral issue of the day, not slavery. I hope I can do better in the future than I have so far to work against it.
We did not rejoice in the outcome of the vote because I know so many people felt so strongly about it but we just could not join you in it.”
Perhaps we’ll meet you on the 23rd when we’re up for our granddaughter’s ballet recital in Luray.
Joni Grady
UU Fellowship of Clemson”
The online edition of UU World has an article Bid to rename Thomas Jefferson District fails again by Jane Greer.