Tag: general robert e. lee

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In brief: Killed bills, uneasy homage, big checks and more

Niko has been behind bars for about four years and it doesn’t look good for him to get out. Courtesy Prayers for Niko

Dead or alive

The General Assembly has been in session two weeks, and it is whittling down the more than 2,000 bills legislators filed. Here are some bills that have survived so far—and others that were DOA.

Alive

  • An in-state tuition bill for undocumented students made it out of the Senate Education Committee January 8 on an 8-7 vote, with one Republican senator joining the ayes.
  • The General Assembly doesn’t often consider freedom of the press, and this year it will look at two bills. Delegate Chris Hurst, a former reporter and anchor for WDBJ in Roanoke, carries a bill that protects student journalists from censorship and their faculty advisers from punishment. Former print journalist Delegate Danica Roem’s bill shields reporters from revealing sources in most cases.
  • A bipartisan group in both houses of the General Assembly want to raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes and vapes from 18 to 21.

Dead

  • The Save Niko bill, which allows dogs found dangerous to be transferred to another owner or shipped to a state that doesn’t border Virginia, made it out of an agriculture subcommittee last week, only to have members change their minds this week. The bill could have freed cat-killer Niko, who has been on doggie death row at the SPCA for about four years.
  • The ’70s-era Equal Rights Amendment passed the Senate 26-14 January 15 and headed to the House of Delegates, where it traditionally dies in committee. This year was no exception—the amendment was tabled by a Republican-led Privileges and Elections subcommittee January 22.
  • More than a dozen gun safety bills, including universal background checks, temporary removal of firearms from the home of someone deemed a risk to himself or others, and Delegate David Toscano’s bill restricting open carry at permitted events like the Unite the Right rally, were swiftly dispatched January 17 in the rural Republican-controlled subcommittee of the House Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety, chaired by southern Albemarle’s Delegate Matt Fariss.
  • Several bills that would decriminalize or even legalize pot died January 16 in a Courts of Justice subcommittee, with Delegate Rob Bell voting to prevent Virginia from going soft on personal marijuana use.
  • A bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 made a rare appearance on the Senate floor January 21, where it died on party lines 19 to 21.

Quote of the week

“I believe there are certain people in history we should honor that way in the Senate . . . and I don’t believe that [Robert E. Lee] is one of them.”—Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, a descendant of slaves, tells the Washington Post after ceding the dais and gavel during a tribute to Lee January 18

In brief

Shutdown scams

Attorney General Mark Herring warned about scams that target furloughed employees. Don’t accept an employment offer for a job you didn’t apply for, he says, and be cautious of predatory lending, including payday, auto title, open-end, and online loans. And those seeking to help should be cautious too—Herring says to avoid cash donations and only give if you can confirm the charity or fundraiser is legit.

Sally Hudson announces run. Eze Amos

Biggest donations in local races

Local philanthropist Sonjia Smith wrote a $100,000 check to UVA prof Sally Hudson, who wants the seat now held by Delegate David Toscano, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Smith also gave $10,000 to Sena Magill for City Council, $5,000 to Albemarle sheriff candidate Chan Bryant, and $20,000 to an Andrew Sneathern for Albemarle commonwealth’s attorney committee, which donated $9,635 to Jim Hingeley, who will announce his run January 23.

Government heavy

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau came closer to being stacked with elected and government officials when county supes voted 5-1 for a 15-member tourism board in which industry experts would be outnumbered 9 to 6 by government people. City Council had its first reading of the changes January 22.

$2.3 million roof

Carr’s Hill’s $7.9 million renovation went up another couple of mil when workers discovered the 14,000-square-foot manse’s roof needed to be replaced, not repaired. It’s the first major overhaul of the 1909 Stanford White-designed home of UVA presidents, and Jim Ryan is temporarily housed in Pavilion VIII on the Lawn while the work goes on.

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Beyond the statues: Councilor’s book explores Confederate monument backlash

City Councilor Wes Bellamy spoke candidly about Confederate statues, the controversy over his old tweets, and the effect his career has had on his family. Photo by Mina Pirasteh

By Jonathan Haynes

City Councilor Wes Bellamy sat down for a revelatory interview at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center January 10 to promote his new book, Monumental: It Was Never About a Statue.

The title alludes to the former vice-mayor’s push to remove Confederate monuments from Charlottesville parks, and the racist backlash it inspired, which culminated in the August 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally. “If it’s just about the statues, people aren’t going to kill you,” he said. “People don’t drive a car into a group of people over the removal of a statue.”

Andrea Copeland-Whitsett, director of member education services for the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, conducted the interview. She began by addressing the derogatory remarks Bellamy had tweeted about women, white people, and the LGBTQ community between 2009 and 2014, and the outrage that erupted when the tweets resurfaced in November 2016.

Bellamy called the tweets “something evil-inspired,” and described his personal experience of the scandal for the first time. He was spending Thanksgiving in Atlanta with his wife when he got a call from a blocked number. According to Bellamy, the voice said, “Hey n—-r, we’re going to break you down. This is Trump’s country now.” Then he received another call from his office letting him know that his old tweets had been sent to City Council and local press.

He could hardly believe they were from his account. “I was so far past that [kind of attitude],” he said.

Come Monday, “a tsunami hit.” Friends and allies turned their backs on him. Then-governor Terry McAuliffe publicly denounced him. He was devastated. Though he remained on City Council, he resigned from his positions at Albemarle High School and on the Virginia Board of Education.

Ultimately, he said, the experience was humbling. “I used to walk around thinking I was a hero. It was a very necessary lesson to me that I am not.”

Bellamy’s tweets were dug up by Jason Kessler, who organized the Unite the Right rally the following year.

The movement to remove the city’s Confederate monuments is often presented as Bellamy’s idea. But he gives credit to Mayor Nikuyah Walker and local high school activist Zyahna Bryant, who drafted the original petition asking City Council to remove the statues and rename Lee Park.

Bryant contacted him after McAuliffe vetoed a bill that would protect Confederate monuments in March 2016. “You can remove the statue,” she told him.

He teamed up with then-councilor Kristin Szakos, who had been publicly questioning the presence of Confederate monuments, and calling on the city to end its celebration of Lee-Jackson Day.

When Bellamy and Szakos held a press conference, he began to fear for his safety. Staring down “a sea of individuals” bearing Confederate flags and shouting, “I was concerned someone was going to shoot me,” he said. Afterwards, Bellamy began receiving death threats on a daily basis, and “would hear loud beats on the back window” of his home after midnight.

It wasn’t about the statue, he said. “People believed we were going to change what was theirs, that this is their community.”

Though his tenure in office has been tumultuous, Bellamy professed an unremitting love for Charlottesville, praising local residents for coming together to confront racial inequities. There are other cities that have the same issues, he said, “but we’re really willing to talk about it.”

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In brief: Robert E. Lee weighs in, Monticello trail crushed and more

Courtesy Washington and Lee University, Special Collections

What would Robert E. Lee say?

We tried to check in with the man at the center of the current controversies taking place in the eponymous Lee Park, but since he’s been dead for 147 years, we instead asked Lexington author David Cox, who just published The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee, to channel what he thinks the General’s response to our questions would be.

To white nationalists assembling at his statue’s feet: “I think he would be appalled.”

To statues commemorating the Lost Cause: Lee was asked to identify battle sites at Gettysburg for monuments, and he refused. He advised “not to keep open the sores of war” and instead to “obliterate the marks of civil strife and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered.” Says Cox, “He’d be a terrible poster boy for the Lost Cause because he wanted the nation to put the war behind us.” After the Civil War, Lee changed and became the South’s chief proponent of peace and reconciliation, he says.

To statues erected of him: “He was very humble. He’d oppose them.”

To demonstrations in Lee Park: He’d oppose on both sides because they arouse passion and continued partisanship, “particularly those trying to preserve the Lost Cause.”

To white nationalism: He shared the sense of racial superiority most white people had in that day, but he also dissipated two lynch mobs in Lexington, says Cox. “He’s not a racial supremacist in the style of these recent protests.”

“It isn’t Richard Spencer calling the cops on me for farming while black. It’s nervous white women in yoga pants with ‘I’m with Her’ and ‘Coexist’ stickers on their German SUVs.”—Sylvanaqua Farms owner Chris Newman in a viral May 17 Facebook post

Questionable competency

Gene Everett Washington. Photo: Charlottesville Police DepartmentGene Washington, charged with the 2014 murders of special education teacher Robin Aldridge and her daughter, Mani, will take a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he’s competent to stand trial this September for the slayings, ordered Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Rick Moore on May 22. Results must be in by his next scheduled hearing on June 21.

Couple indicted in 4-year-old’s death

A grand jury indicted Heather Massey, 27, and Nicholas J. Stoia, 25, May 22 in the death of Cole James Clark May 15 in Orange when the child shot himself with a handgun in the home of his daycare provider. Massey faces five felony counts and four misdemeanors, and Stoia, a Stafford County sheriff’s deputy recruit, faces one felony and four misdemeanor charges.

Crisis management

Police report a suicidal 22-year-old UVA student was spotted atop a crane near West Main and 11th Street SE around 10:40pm May 19 and was aloft for nearly four hours, before descending safely when two crisis team members prepared to ascend. The young man was hospitalized for evaluation under an emergency custody order.

No redeeming architectural value

clockshopThe Board of Architectural Review okayed a demolition permit May 16 for the Clock Shop of Virginia on Water Street. Built in 1950, the property was bought by Black Bear Properties LLC for $450,000 last summer, and Hunter Craig signed the demo permit, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports.

Monticello trail closed

Monticello Trail
Courtesy Monticello

If a hike around TJ’s homestead is on your calendar, be aware that a portion of the Saunders-Monticello Trail is currently closed.

Trail manager Julie Roller says during recent spring storms, two trees fell across the boardwalk and caused structural damage in both locations.

Currently, the upper portion of the trail, which winds up to Monticello, is closed from the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center, but the lower portion is open until the fourth boardwalk. The entire trail is scheduled to reopen by mid-June.

Other hot spots, including the Pond Trail, seven miles of Rustic Trails and Secluded Farm, are still open. “It’s a great opportunity to explore somewhere new,” Roller says.

In other trail news, a group of UVA urban and environmental planning master’s degree students presented a study called “Charlottesville to Monticello & Beyond” to community stakeholders May 12. The team has come up with four potential routes to connect the city to the Saunders-Monticello Trail to improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity.

Courtesy Monticello

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‘Lightning in a bottle:’ Statue commission chair disappointed by decision

Don Gathers (center), the commission’s chairman, is disappointed by the group’s recommendation to keep the Confederate statues in their original locations. Photo by Eze Amos

In a 6-3 vote, Blue Ribbon Commission members recommended that the city keep its General Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson statues in their current Lee Park and Court Square locations, though the committee’s chairman Don Gathers voted otherwise.

“We as a commission and as a city missed an opportunity here to show some real progress,” Gathers says.

Mayor Mike Signer created the commission on race, memorials and public spaces after Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy called for a rally to remove the Lee statue from Lee Park in March, because some members of the community have been offended by the celebration of Confederate heroes in a post-Civil War era.

“It is my sincere belief that for us to take no action, which in essence is what I personally feel that we’ve done, means that we have bowed down to a segment of society in our area that has no real relevance here anymore,” Gathers says about the November 1 vote to let the statues stay. His commission was elected to evaluate the presence of similar statutes in town and recommend to City Council what should be done with them.

He continues, “Unfortunately, the commission didn’t vote to capture the lightning in a bottle when we had the chance to do so.”

The controversy has been fueled by passion, he says, and members of the public at each meeting have spoken strongly about either keeping the memorials in place, further contextualizing them or moving them out of their public parks and into private areas.

And each idea, either presented by the public or the commission, has been heavily criticized. But Gathers says he hasn’t taken the scrutiny to heart—“I’ve refereed high school and college basketball for over 20 years,” he says, laughing. “I’m used to criticism.”

One of his ideas, which he says most of the commission members seemed interested in at one point, was moving the statues to McIntire Park because Paul Goodloe McIntire gave them to the city in the early 1900s.

“I couldn’t think of a better place for them to reside than in the park named after him,” Gathers says.

From 6-9pm on November 10 at Walker Upper Elementary School, the Blue Ribbon Commission will present to the public a portion of the final recommendation it will make to City Council on December 19. Time will be set aside for public comment.

Gathers says commissioners will further explain the recommendation to contextualize the memorials in their respective parks with a more expanded version of the history the statues represent.

“There are some who don’t know for certain that that particular [task] can be accomplished,” Gathers says. “That was a real concern throughout the discussions.”

And what will those contextualizations look like? It’s up in the air.

“I think the plan was to pretty much leave that up to Council,” he says.