To the Editor:
I am a native Virginian, a retired Army Veteran, a resident of Fairfax County since 1995 and a long-time member of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table. My avid interest in early American history and Civil War history has led to countless hours and days exploring the many historical sites, buildings and events the City of Alexandria has to offer.
I have been following with interest the formation and proceedings of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Confederate Memorials and Street Names, established by the Alexandria City Council.
The specific tasks assigned to this group, along with the entities designated by the City Council to provide an Advisory Group member gives the impression of bias (or a politically motivated effort) to remove the Appomattox statute and change all the subject street names. While perhaps an understandable emotional reaction to the June 17, 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., actions potentially being considered by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group deal directly with the 19th century history and growth of the City of Alexandria and Virginia. To ignore or attempt to remove this history does a tremendous disservice to the city, and its residents and the scores of local, U.S. and international tourists who come to Alexandria and Virginia specifically to experience and better understand this history.
Given the impact potential actions being considered might have from a historical perspective, it is striking that no civil war heritage group, the city's own Office of Historic Alexandria, or historians are included in the membership of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group. Relying on public comment and input to fully understand the historical and cultural relevance and significance of the issues the group is tasked to address is insufficient — I strongly recommend including the director, Office of Historic Alexandria in the Ad Hoc Advisory Group as a full member, or alternatively in an advisory role.
Having attended recent meetings of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group and in light of the public comments and input received to date, it is heartening to see that several group members are looking beyond the narrowly worded tasks included in the City Council Resolution establishing the group. Alexandria and Virginia residents and visitors alike want to learn more about and discuss this period of our shared history (as recent events have shown) — the City of Alexandria should capitalize on this, not retreat from it. I urge the Ad Hoc Advisory Group and the City Council to look towards more effective and holistic ways to convey Alexandria's history, including increasing public knowledge and awareness of the City's civil war and post-civil war history, not to simply remove it.
J. Blake Myers
Chair, Preservation Committee, Bull Run Civil War Round Table, Centreville