Montpelier gets new leadership
With more than half its members now representing the descendants of enslaved workers at Montpelier, the Montpelier Foundation Board is moving quickly to undo actions taken by previous leadership during a months-long dispute over control of the board. First on that to-do list: rehiring high-level staffers who’d been fired for speaking out in favor of the Montpelier Descendants Committee.
On May 25, the foundation announced that descendant James French, a banking and technology executive and former chair of MDC, would assume the position of foundation board chair. The board appointed Elizabeth Chew, Montpelier’s former executive vice president, as interim president and CEO. Chew takes the place of the man who fired her, Roy Young. Young, according to the release, resigned his position.
“Elizabeth has the full confidence of Montpelier’s dedicated staff,” French says in the release announcing the changes. “Her reputation for visionary leadership is recognized nationally. Her willingness to take the helm during this critical period will do much to help us turn the page to Montpelier’s next and best chapter.”
Among 11 new MDC-recommended board members voted in at the foundation’s May 16 meeting are journalist Soledad O’Brien; UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce Dean Nicole Thorne Jenkins; and Daina Ramey Berry, chair of the department of history at the University of Texas at Austin.
In the release, Chew expresses optimism about Montpelier’s future: “Montpelier’s stories are among the most powerful tools for education and inspiration of any site in this nation,” she says. “But to unleash that power we must embrace history’s complexity and welcome the leadership of the living voices for those who were silenced here. I ask all who share in this vision to support it, by returning with me to Montpelier, as visitors, donors, partners, and champions.”
Descendants call for library name change
The Reclaimed Roots Descendants Alliance has called on the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library to change its name to one that does not honor enslavers. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, together, enslaved over 700 Black people at Monticello and Montpelier.
“We believe the library is long overdue for a name change, and that maintaining a bad name of a white supremacist is maintaining white supremacy in a space that is supposed to feel inclusive and equitable,” said Reclaimed Roots Director Myra Anderson during a library board of trustees meeting last week.
In response to the local descendant group’s protest, the board added a discussion of changing the name of the library system—which includes Albemarle, Greene, Nelson, and Louisa counties, as well as the City of Charlottesville—to their June meeting’s agenda.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and I can tell you that there’s some people who won’t even walk into the building because of the name on the building,” said Anderson. “That’s real talk.”
This would not be the first time the local library’s gotten a new moniker since Charlottesville opened its first public library in 1921—its previous names were the Charlottesville Public Library, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Library, and the McIntire Regional Library. In 1972, the city partnered with surrounding counties to form the present-day Jefferson-Madison Regional Library system.
In brief
Police chief search begins
Nearly a year after former City Manager Chip Boyles abruptly fired police chief RaShall Brackney, the City of Charlottesville is seeking to hire a consultant to help find a new “21st Century Anti-Racist Police Chief,” reports The Daily Progress. The consultant will directly assist the city manager with various aspects of the chief recruitment and selection process, including outreach campaigns, interviews, screenings, and contract negotiations. The city’s request for proposals will remain open until June 15. Major Tito Durrette has been CPD’s acting chief since December.
Monkeypox hits Virginia
The Virginia Department of Health has identified the state’s first presumed case of monkeypox. A northern Virginia woman who recently traveled to an African country where the disease is known to occur tested positive for the virus last week. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed the test results. Most other cases of monkeypox have been found among men who have sex with men—however, anyone can catch it through close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, and swelling of the lymph nodes, followed by rashes and lesions on the face and body.
Help wanted
To address staffing shortages, the Charlottesville Department of Parks & Recreation is offering hiring bonuses for camp counselors. On top of $15 an hour, day camp counselors earn a $250 bonus at signing, and another at the end of camp. Adaptive camp and inclusion program counselors earn around $16 an hour, in addition to the two bonuses. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, and be able to work up to 40 hours a week.