4 7 8 10 VABook! Don’t Grieve Fellowship Program Tough Times 2006 After Me 20th Anniversary Companion Vol. II

The Newsletter of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Winter 2006

, DDisastersisatheDiasporas,Dstiaesrpsoras, BY PABLO J. DAVIS Humanities he catastrophic sequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with their& accompanying fl oods, visited unimaginable devastation on New Orleans and the surrounding region, confronting us with the near-destruction of a great, celebrated, and unique American city. But the great human drama of the Gulf Coast Hurricanes of 2005 lies in their having set more than a million people in sudden movement. TRendering a human community’s home uninhabitable, or possibly the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, with over destroying its economic basis of survival, or both, disasters 1,800 deaths; the Katrina-Rita toll, well over 1,000, is still have historically given rise to migrations—the Old Testa- unknown). ment abounds in plagues, Pulling the lens back fi res, and fl oods that led from hurricanes to other to the prolonged wander- disasters (natural or other- ings of uprooted peoples. wise) and diasporas reveals How have the humanities a panoply of events. In responded to this lat- 1837-1838, more than est coupling of disaster 15,000 Cherokee were put and diaspora, and to others on a forced westward march in the past? in wintry conditions; over Comparative study a quarter of them died. has been one humani- Th e Johnstown Flood of ties response. Th e Gulf 1889 killed 2,200 Penn- Coast Hurricanes can be sylvanians in a population

measured against other Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans. Photo by Jon Lohman. of 30,000, but detonated recorded hurricanes in their no vast out-migration. Th e physical intensity at time of landfall (exceeded by Hurricane San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 killed close to 1,000 in a Camille of 1969 and the Florida Keys Hurricane of 1935) city of well over a quarter-million, but reconstruction and or by death toll (surpassed by the Galveston Hurricane of enormous in-migration lay in the near future. Th ousands 1900, which killed somewhere close to 10,000 people, and of slaves took to the roads and backwoods during the Civil Continued on page 2 Disasters, Diasporas, and the Humanities

Continued from cover WINTER 2006

Virginia Foundation War, though propelled more by opportunities for for the Humanities 145 Ednam Drive freedom aff orded by wartime chaos than by disaster, Charlottesville, VA 22903-4629 strictly speaking. Th e Mississippi River Flood of 1927 killed some 500 people and displaced more (434) 924-3296 fax (434) 296-4714 than 600,000. Upwards of fi ve million African virginiafoundation.org Americans departed the South in the century after vhfi [email protected] Reconstruction, though they moved for many reasons and an epic exodus stretching over several genera- tions can hardly be considered a single event. Robert C. Vaughan, III PRESIDENT What emerges as the closest U.S. historical parallel to the Gulf Coast Hurricanes of 2005 is the David Bearinger DIRECTOR, GRANTS AND “Dust Bowl” migration; the 1930s saw the departure PUBLIC PROGRAMS of more than one million people from the Oklahoma

and Texas panhandles and surrounding states in the ABOVE, TOP: Oklahoma Dust Bowl refugees, San Fernando, California. Andrew Chancey Dorthea Lange, 1935. Courtesy Library of Congress. DIRECTOR, PLANNING south-central Plains. Erosion and drought created an AND MANAGEMENT ecological crisis that virtually destroyed agriculture— BOTTOM: Dust Bowl refugees along the highway near Bakersfi eld, already pummeled by the Great Depression. At its California. Dorthea Lange, 1935. Courtesy Library of Congress. Susan Coleman DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA CENTER worst, colossal dust storms darkened skies, choked FOR THE BOOK lungs, and penetrated into homes through the tiniest days: the Federal Emergency Management Adminis- cracks and seams. Historian James Gregory’s Ameri- tration received more than 1.35 million applications Roberta Culbertson DIRECTOR, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION can Exodus traces this migration’s path to California, for assistance within 25 days of Katrina’s landfall. whose culture was shaken and ultimately reshaped by Indeed, it seems safe to say that no disaster-diaspora Sheryl Hayes DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT the infl ux of poverty-battered Plains migrants who in U.S. history matches the Gulf Coast Hurricanes came to be known collectively as “Okies.” of 2005 in their combination of scale and sudden- Gail Shirley-Warren ness: well over a million men, women, and children BUSINESS MANAGER Th e diaspora triggered by Katrina and Rita, though, unfolded over not a decade, but literally a few uprooted, essentially overnight. Andrew Wyndham Another humanities response, the critical analysis DIRECTOR, MEDIA PROGRAMS of disaster, takes extreme events as windows onto society—as if a room in an apartment building were Newsletter Production Staff suddenly exposed to view by a wrecking ball’s blow or

ADVISORY EDITOR a bomb’s explosion. Th e adjectivenatural has come David Bearinger into serious question, as scholarship reveals the eff ects

TEXT AND WEB EDITOR of social, political, and economic geography in leaving Christina Draper some safe and others vulnerable to disasters’ eff ects. Patterns of highly uneven access to transportation CO-EDITOR (and thus the chance to evacuate to safety) in New Kevin McFadden Orleans, in a context of extreme class and race in- DISTRIBUTION MANAGER equality,equality, aarere jjustust oonene ooff tthishis ddisaster-diaspora’sisaster-diaspora’s Lynda Myers structuralstructural ccomponents;omponents; aanother,nother, tthehe aapparentpparent CO-EDITOR inadequacyinadequacy ooff tthehe llevees,evees, lleded ssomeome ttoo sspeakpeak ooff Ann White Spencer anan uunprecedentednprecedented ““civil-engineeringcivil-engineering ddisaster.”isaster.”

GRAPHIC DESIGN InIn ootherther wwords,ords, hhumanuman aandnd nnotot jjustust nnaturalatural Keith Damiani causescauses mmakeake eeventsvents ddisastrous.isastrous. Sequoia Design Co. LEFT, TOP: Removing bodies to barges for burial at sea, after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Courtesy University of Chicago Library. The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Newsletter is published three times a year. BOTTOM: The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927. Courtesy The VFH is an independent, nonprofi t, University of Chicago Library tax-exempt organization.

2 Winter 2006

Often arising from such concerns has been Orleans. Th e study of trans-geographic ties to place another response: a literature of denunciation. Doro- contributes further to understanding disaster-diaspo- thea Lange’s photography of Dust Bowl migrants ras, whether the community of Dust Bowl migrants stands in the critical vein, as do the writings of her resettling in Bakersfi eld, California, in the late 1930s, husband, economist Paul Taylor, and others who or the colony of New Orleans musicians emerging pointed to the human-wrought aspects of ecological today in Austin, Texas. disaster. Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath stands as the Another response: study of disaster-diaspora’s most famous literary statement of the human cost. eff ects on individuals and communities. Kai Erikson’s Following the 1935 Labor Day hurricane in the study of the 1972 Buff alo Creek, West Virginia fl ood Florida Keys, Ernest Hemingway angrily loosed the and its sudden, violent reversal of an Appalachian arrows of satire on the federal policies that had sent community’s slow progress out of poverty was a land- GIs there on construction projects, living in help- mark. On a national scale, historian Louis A. Perez’s lessly exposed shacks in the peak of hurricane season Winds of Change evaluated the impact of a series of (over 400 deaths). Th e inequalities and failures hurricanes in 1840s Cuba, fi nding they engendered exposed by Katrina, too, have generated widespread a here-and-now fatalism—but also a premium on Th e and passionate critique. cooperative preparation and response. Gulf Coast Yet another humanities response, also fl owing Of all the humanities responses to disaster- from the analysis of disaster, is the critical analysis diaspora, perhaps most compelling is the mission of Disaster of discourse. Such inquiries examine the narratives documenting people’s experience. Typically, working & that name, and frame, disasters—and the people they with ethnographers, folklorists, and oral historians, SomeDiaspora: Key Humanities Resources aff ected. No disas- survivors bear ter-diaspora has witness to disaster, Louisiana Folklife Program been more richly diaspora, suff ering, In the Wake of the Hurricanes interpreted on this and struggle—and, www.louisianafolklife.org/katrina.html score than the Gulf across space and Coast Hurricanes time, bring outsid- Social Science Research Council of 2005—refl ecting ers closer to that Understanding Katrina the sophistication experience. Th e understandingkatrina.ssrc.org of contemporary WPA narratives media and linguistic of the 1930s stand History News Network studies’ toolkit. Of- as a sterling past Katrina Coverage ten uncritical and example of these hnn.us/articles/15043.html sensationalistic TV eff orts. Today, coverage, using the A New Orleans second line parade renews a cultural tradition on New Years Eve 2005. numerous projects racially charged The audience participates in these parades by following the brass band are emerging to to form a “second line.” Photo by Jon Lohman. frame of “looting” document the Gulf and “mob violence,” distorted the national citizenry’s Coast Hurricanes of 2005. An improvised but inspir- perceptions and may have had serious implications ing alliance of such initiatives uses the umbrella name for the national government’s response. Essayist and “Research in the Wake” (see resources box, right). media critic Leon Wynter deployed a potent analysis Some of these initiatives aim not only to docu- of obese, helpless “Auntie” and her thuggish “Neph- ment this unparalleled disaster-diaspora, but to put ew” as historically laden African American stereo- survivors at the center of the eff ort—giving them types imbuing television imagery of New Orleans. a voice, a creative role, and new skills. As with a Inquiry into connection with place forms number of VFH projects, such eff orts highlight the another humanities response. Understanding the humanities’ growing role in helping communities ways people bond with one another and with their rebuild and strengthen. community’s shared space are potent tools for interpreting responses to disaster, the persistence of Historian Pablo J. Davis directs connection “back home,” and the prospects for return. the South Atlantic Humanities Shannon Lee Dawdy’s archaeological work in New Center, a VFH partnership with the Orleans cemeteries, at one level, involves things that University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The South Atlantic region’s are not living: bones, gravestones. At another level, kinship with the Gulf Coast includes it is all about living interaction with the cemetery; centuries of African and other the connection of people with their dead, a feature of diasporic infl uences, the manifold all societies, has been particularly powerful in New presence of water, and hurricanes.

3 VABook! 2006 A Reading List That Can’t Be Missed

BY NANCY DAMON arch is always an exciting month at the VFH as we host the annual Virginia Festival of the Book. Th e 12th festival, scheduled for Wednesday, March 22, through Sunday, March 26, will host more than 300 writers of many genres, with 150 programs for adults and dozens moreM in-school and Saturday programs for youth and families. Wednesday night of the Laureate, current Virginia Poet number of political and cultural festival will feature a special his- Laureate, and author of American analysts on Friday and Saturday, tory “double-header.” In the 6 p.m. Smooth) and preeminent American including Amy Goodman Culbreth Th eatre program,Fintan historian John Hope Franklin (“Democracy Now” radio host, Barbara Ehrenreich O’Toole, Irish author and arts (author of Mirror to America: author of Th e Exception to the critic, will speak about his book Th e Autobiography of John Hope Rulers), Adrian Wooldridge White Savage: William Johnson and Franklin, his memoir of the 20th (Washington Bureau Chief the Invention of America. Th e book’s century struggle for civil rights). for Th e Economist, author of subject is the British Agent to the On Th ursday, the luncheon Th e Right Nation), Hendrik various Indian Nations in colonial speaker will be Judith Viorst, Hertzberg (Senior Editor for America, the real model for the famous for her comic poetry, Th e New Yorker, author of Politics: “Leatherstocking Tales” by James her children’s books (such as Observations & Arguments), and Fenimore Cooper. He’ll be joined Alexander and the Terrible, Barbara Ehrenreich (Bait and by Melvin Patrick Ely, winner of Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Switch: Th e (Futile) Pursuit of the the Bancroft Prize for history for Day), and her carefully reasoned American Dream). Science writers his work Israel on the Appomattox, self-help books. Th is sold-out Ron Bailey (Liberation Biology), a discussion of a community of luncheon will be rebroadcast Madeline Drexler (Secret Agents),

Michael Connelly free blacks in Virginia before on WVPT Public television. and Ann Parsons (Th e Proteus the Civil War. Also, Lindsay Afterward, Kevin O’Keefe (Th e Eff ect) will explore the issues and Robertson, a law professor Average American) will team up ethics of stem cell research, DNA specializing in Indian rights, will with David Wolman (A Left- modifi cation, and other possibili- discuss his work, Conquest by Law, Hand Turn Around the World) to ties off ered through new technol- a social history of the court cases discuss notions of what is average ogy. Scientists Tim Flannery that set policy by which the U.S. and what is not. Sports chroni- (Th e Weather Makers), William government responded to Indian clers Derek Catsam (Bleeding Ruddiman (Plows, Plagues, rights. Th ese stories of the 18th Red) and Warren St. John and Petroleum) and journalist and 19th centuries have shaped (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer) Elizabeth Kolbert (Field Notes American history to the present. will discuss the extraordinary from a Catastrophe) will predict Following this program at lengths to which sports fans future weather and climate pat- 8 p.m. is a reading and discussion will go to support their teams. terns based on their study of cur- by Rita Dove (former U.S. Poet Th e festival will feature a rent environmental research. Tim Flannery 4 Winter 2006

One of the highlights of Dungy, Claudia Emerson, Jane fi ction, there are Jennifer Haigh, Saturday will be a program Hirshfi eld, Sarah Kennedy, Roy Hoff man, Daniela Kuper, featuring the “father of graphic Gregory Orr, and Vivian Shipley. Star Lawrence, James Morrow, novels,” Art Spiegelman, creator Also featured are collective poetry Peter Quinn, and Gwyn Rubio. of Maus and Maus II. Publishing readings from Best New Poets Fantasy writers include Kevin Day on Saturday will feature seven 2005 anthology; the Tough Times Brockmeier, River Jordan, programs on the changing nature Companion II; Kundiman, the Brandon Massey, Paul Witcover, of the reading public, careers in Asian American Poets col- and the renowned Mary publishing, writing children’s lective; Cave Canem, Doria Russell. books, agents, how to buzz your the African For more Russell, well book, and more. Saturday is also American poetry information, known for Crime Wave, the annual off er- workshop; and visit Sparrow and Rita Dove ing of mystery and suspense an open mic vabook.org. God’s Children, novels, featuring writers Michael hosted by Hilda has a new book, A Connelly, Jeff ery Deaver, Joseph Ward. New and rising voices Th read of Grace, an histori- Kanon, John Lescroart, Nancy include Dan Albergotti, Karen cally based novel about Italy dur- Martin, Katherine Neville, Karin Garthe, Charlotte Matthews, ing World War II. Slaughter, Andy Straka, Paula L. Patrick Phillips, Mary Szybist, Be sure you set aside time in Woods, and many others. Natasha Trethewey, and your March schedule to join us in Poetry at the festival will Eliot Khalil Wilson. Charlottesville for these and more feature readings by Camille For those who love historical readings, panels, and book signings.

A sample of VABook! programs Vijay Seshadri

Wednesday, March 22 Friday, March 24 Contemporary Art and Complicity! Race in America 2 PM, UVA ART MUSEUM, PINE ROOM 10 AM, JEFFERSON MADISON REGIONAL LIBRARY, 201 E. MARKET STREET Johanna Drucker, author of Sweet Dreams: Contemporary Art and With Nick Kotz (Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther Complicity, explores how artists draw inspiration and materials from King, Jr., and the Laws That Changed America) and Sheryll Cashin popular culture. (The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream). Moderated by Faith Childs. Curl Up With a Companion: Tough Times Companion II 4 PM, GRAVITY LOUNGE, 103 S. FIRST STREET The Map That Named America: Cartography Readings, performances, and discussion of this VFH publication for 2 PM, UVA HARRISON INSTITUTE/SMALL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY those facing hard times—by contributors Angela Daniel, Judy Longley, AUDITORIUM Christopher Morris, and Julie Portman. Seymour I. Schwartz, Ph.D., discusses his book, America’s Baptism, recounting the history and intrigues relating to the map that named America. Gregory Orr Thursday, March 23

Beyond Banjos: Another Appalachia Saturday, March 25 NOON, UVA BOOKSTORE Jeff Biggers (The United States of Appalachia) and Jeff Mann (Loving A Change in the Weather: Climate Issues Mountains, Loving Men) explore widely unacknowledged cultural and NOON, CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 605 E. MAIN STREET personal histories of the region. With Tim Flannery (The Weather Makers), Elizabeth Kolbert (Field Notes from a Catastrophe) and William Ruddiman (Plows, Plagues and Can There Be Peace in the Middle East? Petroleum). 2 PM, JEFFERSON MADISON REGIONAL LIBRARY, 201 E. MARKET STREET A conversation with Milton Viorst (Storm from the East) and UVa 19th Century Women: Biography Panel Professor William Quandt (Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the NOON, NEW DOMINION, 404 E. MAIN STREET Arab-Israeli Confl ict). Louise Knight (Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy) and Meg Marshall (The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism).

Art Spiegelman

5 FromFrom JamestownJamestown toto thethe BuyoutBuyout Film Explores Tobacco Culture in the Old Belt of Virginia

BY DAVID BEARINGER

t would be hard to exaggerate the importance of tobacco to the culture and economy of Virginia over the past 400 years. It would be even obacco Festival Louise Slayton posing for National TobaccoT Festival Courtesy of South Boston/ harder to overstate the centrality of Bright Leaf tobacco to life in the publicity photo, circa 1936. Halifax County History Museum. small towns and farming communities of the state’s Old Belt region. Th e Old Belt stretches across the Virginia/ in 2005, is without a doubt the best visual and its impact on local culture. Home-town North Carolina border, including Pittsylvania introduction to the history of tobacco in Vir- tobacco festivals and sharecropping, family ties Iand Halifax as well as portions of neighboring ginia and to the recent economic and politi- to the land and migrant labor, curing barns and counties, with Danville at its epicenter. For more cal changes that have profoundly and forever globalization are all part of the story. than a century, millions of pounds of some of altered life in the Old Belt region. Th e fi lm also includes original music: one the highest-grade cigarette tobacco in the world Th e fi lm begins at Jamestown, with John composition in particular blends the sound of has been grown by farmers in this region and Rolfe, and concludes in the aftermath of the marimbas with the auction chant of world- sold through an auction system that supported 10 billion dollar federal tobacco buyout, which champion tobacco auctioneer Bob Cage from not just the local economy, but also a distinctive ended both the quota system and traditional Halifax County. fabric of local traditions and ways of life. warehouse auctions, making small-scale to- Th is haunting musical hybrid closes the By the mid-1990s, demand for tobacco in bacco farming in most cases diffi cult, if not fi lm. Just a few minutes earlier, the essence of the United States was in steep decline, world impossible, to sustain. what has happened in the Old Belt is captured markets were changing, and tobacco farming It includes archival photographs as well as in footage of a modern tobacco auction. Th ere was sustained to a large extent by a system of contemporary footage of planting, harvesting, is no auctioneer, no chant; the room is quiet ex- price supports and allotments that had been put curing, baling, and marketing the tobacco at cept for the sound of footsteps, as buyers walk in place during the 1930s. auction. It also includes excerpts from a series the rows of bales placing their bids on hand- Th is fabric of tobacco culture in the Old of deeply moving conversations with local held devices that look like Game Boys. “I’m a Belt was already beginning to unravel when growers, many of whom believe they will be the dinosaur now,” Bob Cage laments, “…bones.” Jim Crawford, a cultural geographer and novice last to farm their land, which is not well-suited fi lmmaker, proposed to document what was oc- to most other forms of agriculture. curring, and to try to capture on fi lm something But Down in the Old Belt is not an Down in the Old Belt is available of the old way of life that was about to disappear. apology for tobacco. It is neither an indictment from Swinging Gate Productions. With a series of three grants beginning in nor a defense. It is, instead, an objective but still NovemberNovember 11998,998, tthehe VVFHFH ssupportedupported rresearch,esearch, remarkablyremarkably ccompassionateompassionate llookook aatt tthehe hhistoryistory Online at www.swinginggateproductions.com oral history ofof ttobaccoobacco e-mail at [email protected] interviews, script inin VirginiaVirginia phone (540) 342-9605 development, and early production of a fi lm that came to be called Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South. Th is fi lm, completed and released on DVD

ABOVE: Drawing tobacco plants from seed bed on C.D. Bryant farm. Courtesy of Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.

RIGHT: Handing strung tobacco into curing barn, August 19, 1947. Courtesy of Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.

6 Winter 2006

A New Portrait of Virginia: VFH and Hampton University Co-Publish Don’t Grieve After Me

BY DAVID BEARINGER

generation ago, African Ameri- Recently, building on an effort that began cans were still mostly confined to 20 years ago, the VFH and Hampton Univer- the margins of Virginia’s written sity have added an important new stone to the histories when they appeared there foundation of a broader and more complete at all. Until recently, the “definitive” versions of understanding of Virginia history through the AVirginia history named few African Americans, publication of Don’t Grieve After Me: The Black and it was rare for them to place the achieve- Experience in Virginia, 1619-2005. ments of black Virginians equally alongside This book, which was edited by Chris- those of whites. tina Draper, the Director of the VFH African It was even more unusual for the authors American Heritage Program, provides an over- of these histories to acknowledge the central- view of nearly 400 years of African American ity of black men and women, both free and life in Virginia. It was designed, in part, to serve enslaved, to the economic and cultural life and as a companion to the Don’t Grieve After Me progress of the state as a whole. exhibit, which was also produced by the VFH This is changing. Important new scholar- and Hampton University, first in 1986 and then, ship has begun to move the study of African in an updated version, in 2001. American history in Virginia from the margins A companion catalogue produced in to the mainstream of university-based research. connection with the first Don’t Grieve exhibit And every year, scores of new initiatives and has been out of print since the late 1980s. This community-based projects are undertaking the new publication includes revised versions of the crucial work of documenting, preserving, and original catalogue essays—by Michael Hucles, interpreting Virginia’s African American his- Sarah S. Hughes, and Philip Morgan—as well tory at the local level. as a new essay by Tommy Bogger and all the These local efforts have begun to inspire photographs from the exhibit. and reinforce one another, and one result has Funding from the ExxonMobil Founda- been the creation of regional and even statewide tion, which was the principal underwriter of the webs of research and expertise. The necessity of 2001 exhibit, enabled us to digitize the original collaboration between academic researchers and manuscript. The new publication was made pos- community-based historians has also become sible by a generous grant from Jamestown 2007. increasingly apparent. Don’t Grieve After Me is a landmark: there Over the past two decades especially, new is no comparable overview of African American publications, exhibits, web sites, and classroom history in Virginia currently available. But, obvi- teaching resources have emerged in a steady ously, no single publication can do justice to the stream. Like mosaic tiles or fragments in a complexity and significance of the lives and the stained glass window, they have begun to create shared history this book represents. So we see it TOP: Registering to Vote–1966 a larger, and more deeply textured statewide as a beginning. Brunswick County, Virginia picture of the African American experience. As Virginia prepares to observe its 400th Richmond Times Dispatch Still, nearly 400 years after the first Af- anniversary in 2007, the work of documenting MIDDLE: The Cheatham Family–1890 ricans arrived in Virginia, much of the history the state’s untold stories, of filling in the gaps Cook Collection, Valentine Richmond History Center of African Americans in the state is now being and correcting past omissions and misrepresen- BOTTOM: Hampton Roads AFR’AM Fest–1997 researched, uncovered, written, and discussed tations is more important than ever. The VFH Photograph taken by David Bowman, The Daily Press openly for the first time. And it may take is grateful to Hampton University, especially to decades, or longer, before we can confidently Mary Lou Hultgren and the staff of the Hamp- say that the history of African Americans is no ton University Museum, and to all those who Copies of Don’t Grieve After Me are available from longer part of Virginia’s “hidden history.” have helped to make this publication possible. the VFH and Hampton University at a cost of $22.95. 7 VFH Fellows Program: 20 Years of Ground-Breaking Research and Writing

BY ROBERTA A. CULBERTSON

tory. Historian Patricia Sullivan is writing the ortune and time make most of us ignorant of many things. They make complicated first comprehensive history of the NAACP, and problems too difficult because we do not have the time to unravel their origins, share Victoria Sanford’s work on Guatemala helped perspectives, and find solutions. The Commonwealth of Virginia understands this, to establish the truth of a hidden genocide. and supports the VFH Fellowship Program as a way to allow a few committed But more important than the success scholars to explore issues for the rest of us, to penetrate the unknowns of our history, and the of our Fellows, their contributions, and the origins of our stories. Every project we support contributes to the giant puzzle of our knowledge F prestige of the program is our continued com- of ourselves. Every project enriches us, informs us, and connects us to one another. The work of mitment to those early goals: work in the public the Fellowship Program is among the essential tasks of a democracy because it is about knowing interest, cross-disciplinary work, opportunities what we face so that we might responsibly decide what is to be done. for young scholars, and the creation of new and The Virginia Foundation for the Human- Finally, planners saw that Virginia’s future necessary fields of study. These set us apart from ities was founded in 1974 to link scholarship scholarship depended on the young and innova- other humanities research programs around the with the public, to bring the humanities to the tive scholars of the day who often worked at country. marketplace. As the National Endowment for colleges and universities that could not afford The VFH Fellowship Program’s more than the Humanities’ “public programs” component, to give them research leave or funds. Young 200 Fellows have earnestly and carefully taken it reached out to the public with offerings of scholars were often passed over by traditional the public trust to heart, and as I write this to- knowledge from the “academy,” as it is grandly research centers, and those with public leanings day I am surrounded by young scholars and two termed. had virtually no means of support for their work. senior scholars of great renown who continue Not long after the VFH’s founding, staff An image for the mission of the VFH Fel- the tradition. They want you to know what they began to wonder if the connection between lowship Program began to coalesce and clarify. know. They want to know what you need to the humanities and the people shouldn’t begin The program was launched in the fall of 1986 know. They are the future of our ideas, and our sooner: not with books and research after they by the Board of Directors, President Robert C. ideas shape what we will become. were completed, but with what was studied in Vaughan, staff member David Wyatt, and See Institute on Violence and Survival, p. 10 the first place. What might everyday people a handful of planners and dreamers. It want studied, and could that drive at least some offered Virginia scholars short-term fel- humanities research? Several scholars at the lowships with stipends. Soon Fellows had VFH began to debate this question in the early their own offices, their own floor at the 1980s, imagining that the VFH might promote VFH, and their own dedicated staff. such research as part of its mission. Today, the Fellowship Program is Citizens, Board members, legislators, and a major activity of the VFH. More than others reminded the planners that many facets 200 Fellows have been in residence of Virginia culture and history were grievously over the program’s 20-year history. under-researched: African American history Books produced by Fellows are and culture, the experiences of Virginia Indians, published by the most prestigious the contributions and treatment of women. academic presses, and contribute to the And what of globalization and other cultures fields of United States Constitutional must Virginians know to navigate the new law, women’s history, Civil Rights, territory of an increasingly diverse Common- religion and culture, philosophy, the wealth? Could a center of research address Civil War, and the documentation of these topics, helping Virginians to enrich their Virginia folklife traditions. They often sense of heritage and present place? represent seminal contributions to Then they asked another question: what what were new fields of research when would happen if scholars working on issues of their authors came to us. Now many of public interest and concern spoke about these those fields are established and valued to each other—across disciplines, historical academic specialties. E.J. Jordan’s research periods, and topics? What if they worked as a on Black Confederates, for example, was scholarly community, dedicated to the public ground-breaking work on a particularly and to each other’s work? complex piece of African American his-

8 Winter 2006

VFH Resident Fellowship Program Promotes Congeniality and Productivity

By Bill Freehling, VFH Senior Fellow

Compared to the major United States “think tanks” The VFH offers Fellows cozy offices (with win- in the humanities—a few that come to mind are dows) in which to write, protected from telephones Stanford, Princeton, the North Carolina Research and outside clamor: no one knocking on the door, Triangle, and Wilson Center in Washington, no students to advise, no programs to administer. D.C.—the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities All this peace and quiet maximizes the opportunity A Reading List That Can’t Be Missed houses fewer fellows on smaller stipends. The to seize the splendid access to the University of program thrives, however, by turning what some Virginia’s rich libraries (and through the provided might view as weaknesses into strengths: the computers, access to scholarly work and sources smaller program encourages greater congeniality literally the world over). This unusual combination among scholars. Moreover, the location, in a state of distance from outside distractions and encour- Spring 2006 VFH Fellows, their projects, and affiliations are (left to right) Jennifer Geddes, The Rhetorics of Evil, University of Virginia humanities council that serves many spare clusters agement to write for the broadest outside audience (Research Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Co-Pro- of humanists of other sorts, encourages widening has yielded some memorable books in the last 20 gram Director Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture); William W. Freehling, Road to Disunion, Volume II: Secessionists Trium- interactions. Our colleagues at the VFH include years. The atmosphere has also made my two-plus phant 1854-1861, VFH Senior Fellow; James Bryant, Reimagining radio producers and filmmakers of humanities pro- years at the VFH the most productive of my life. the Spiritual Bonds of Communities in Bondage—the Tidewater Chesapeake, 1760-1831, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA grams, folk life enthusiasts, book festival directors, (Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology); literacy promoters—all devoted to spreading the Bill Freehling has written four books on the American Civil War, Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton, Millenialism on the Margins: Islam and Patterns of Religious Change in Colonial East Africa, University three of them prize winners. His Prelude to Civil War: The Nul- humanities beyond the universities’ ivory towers. of Virginia (Associate Professor of Religious Studies); Roberta A. lification Controversy in South Carolina was awarded the Nevins Writing not just for a handful of fellow specialists Culbertson, VFH Director of Research and Education; and Jerry and Bancroft Prizes. He has held professorships at Michigan State, Handler (not pictured), The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in but for all fellow citizens is contagious. SUNY, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Kentucky. the Americas: A Visual Record, VFH Senior Fellow.

Fellowship—In the Best Sense of the Word By VFH Spring 2005 Fellows Tatiana van Riemsdijk and Deborah Lee

Fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell; pious slaveholding women who shouldered three ent races and religions who worked to end slavery. fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death; and benevolent initiatives: black Sunday schools, white Because my research and writing are unconven- the deeds that ye do upon the earth, it is for fellow- Sunday schools, and the colonization of freed slaves tional in topic and form, I appreciated the advice, ship’s sake that ye do them. —WILLIAM MORRIS in Liberia. In the reclusive calm of the Fellows’ third information, and feedback from other scholars. These floor offices at the VFH, I withdrew large amounts interactions strengthened and affirmed my methodol- It was the final day of our spring fellowship, and we from the vault of in-house expertise. Other fellows ogy, interpretations, and the overall project. Tatiana were returning from our customary walk around the generously gave valuable research leads and and I are both somewhat isolated from scholars in Boar’s Head pond. With a broad smile, senior fellow spirited discussion. This time was a transformative our fields of interest (she’s in Ontario working on Bill Freehling told us that we would soon be look- experience for me. At the VFH, scholars, activists, Virginia history and I’m in the public sector), so we ing back at the best four months of our lives. We writers, and authors engaged with my project, plac- have a vast appreciation for the collaboration we agreed then—and with time to reflect we affirm ing a variety of disciplinary lenses on my research; I enjoyed at the VFH. During spring term, the group it more now—that our months of residency at the learned to listen at different “frequencies.” included Bill Freehling (one of the nation’s leading Civil Virginia Foundation for the Humanities were indeed  War historians) and political theorist Lawrie Balfour among the best of our lives. (UVA assistant professor, politics), who specializes in As an independent scholar African American thought on race and social justice. During this sojourn, I and public historian from Another fellow, author and historian Henry Wiencek, (Tatiana, an assistant pro- Loudoun County, I (Deborah shared his research on slavery at Monticello, and fessor of history at Wilfrid Lee) was grateful for the near the end of the term Susan McKinnon (UVA Laurier University in Wa- time to begin my book Trou- associate professor, anthropology) joined our group terloo, Ontario) worked on ble the Water: Antislavery discussions during walks around the pond. my book Saving Souls and Virginians in the Potomac Solving Slavery: Virginia’s Hinterland, 1810-1870. In Tatiana and I stay in touch and will be ever grateful Evangelicals, 1800-1840. this work, I am braiding for possibly the most professionally productive and This study examines together the life stories of men and women of differ- delightful months of our lives.

9 Tough Times Companion II

here are plenty of publications for the good times in life. You can read about hiking, diving, cooking, model trains, hunting, weddings, and yoga. But what can you read when things are as hard as they get for human beings? It’s diffi cult to fi nd pe- riodicals on grief, loneliness, illness, and depression. Self-help books may downplayT the darkness of the moment, which often feels beyond help. Suff ering calls out for company that understands and doesn’t demand; it is eased only by an intense beauty that matches and captures it. Two years ago, the Institute on Violence and Survival launched its fi rst edition of Tough Times Companion, a collection of essays, poetry, and photography for just such times. Produced by people who know the diffi cult places, the book was distributed free to clinics, hospitals, shelters, prisons, and similar venues. All copies were taken in a matter of months. Th e second edition was released last fall and is going fast. Funded entirely by the VFH and private donations, TTC is a special gift to people for whom the humanities can become a matter of life and death. Soon the VFH expects to establish an agreement with the UVa Bookstore so readers who want a copy of TTC may order online and pay only shipping and handling charges. Watch the VFH web site (virginiafoundation.org) for news on this new outlet for our publica- tions. To order a copy or copies of TTC, e-mail [email protected]. Institute on Violence and Survival

Th e fi rst voices to be silenced in the Survival in 1995 to allow the knowl- and support from the Commonwealth, case of mass violence are the voices of edge of survivors to become part of the supported more than 30 Fellows-in-resi- the victims. Th ey are killed, demoralized, discourse on violence, not as a sideline dence. Th ey have researched the social shamed, or lost. Violence speaks in its or a moral imperative, but as data. Only context of incest, the horrors of war and own languages—physical, emotional, and survivors know the interior experience of repression, and the literature of confl ict. anguished. Its survivors are often impos- violence and its subtle forms of persis- Th ey have documented genocide and sibly painful to hear. tence. Th e Institute was founded for and studied the art and rhetorics of violence. Th e eff ect is the loss of a critical by survivor scholars: those who both In the course of the program’s source of information on the eff ects of knew violence and wanted to study it as history, violence and its survival has violence: the intimate, concrete knowl- an academic subject. become a recognized fi eld of academic edge of those who have borne it. In the 11 years of the program, inquiry. We like to think the VFH and Th e VFH Fellowship Program the Institute has, with funding from the our Fellows had some small role in that established the Institute on Violence and Rockefeller Foundation, private donations, important development.

Govenor Tim Kaine joins the bluegrass band No Speed Limit, of Galax, on stage during the Governor’s Inaugural Concert at William and Mary Hall in Williamsburg on January 13. No Speed Limit’s debut CD, Bluegrass Lullaby, was produced by the Virginia Folklife Program, as part of its “Crooked Road Music Series.” Please visit www.virginiafolklife.org to order yours! (Photograph by Joe Mahoney)

10 Winter 2006

VFH DONOR SPOTLIGHT John and Lydia Peale

BY ALTHEA BROOKS

ohn and Lydia Peale are long-time supporters of the humanities and the eff orts of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Lydia has served on the VFH board since 2000. JIn addition to their generous support of the Virginia Festival of the Book, the Peales are alsoalso VVFHFH HHumanitiesumanities AAssociates,ssociates, ccontributingontributing uunrestrictednrestricted ddollarsollars tthathat aarere aappliedpplied ttoo aareasreas ooff tthehe oorganization’srganization’s ggreatestreatest nneeds.eeds. When asked why they support the VFH, Lydia explains, “As the world grows more and more technologically focused, we need to hold on to what humanizes us, our shared journey through that which makes us think as well as feel. I am most impressed by the genuine eff orts of the VFH to take the humanities to all the people of Virginia.” John and Lydia are involved with serving their community through volunteer work with many worthy organizations. Lydia is a former school teacher and a current member of the Fluvanna League of Women Voters. Along with her involvement with three book groups, Lydia volunteers with her church in a variety of programs, sings in the choir, and volunteers as a Jeff erson Area Board for Aging (JABA) Ombudsman at a local nursing home. John, an avid reader, fi lls his time with a range of academic pursuits, including his fi eld of study, religion. Recently, he has been studying Christianity in China, Chinese history, culture, and language. John is a world traveler who has visited 51 countries. Married for 45 years, John and Lydia have three children and four grandchildren.

New VFH Staff Are Enthusiastic and Experienced

n the spring of 2005, Lydia Wilson began serving as the program associate for Media Programs. Prior to working at the VFH, she assisted the executive director of FOCUS, a nonprofi t organization in the Charlottesville area that supports Christian education for school-aged youths. She also worked as a paralegal on fi nance transac- tions with Hunton and Williams in New York City. Lydia grew up in the mountains of Hendersonville,I North Carolina, and graduated from Davidson College in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in French. When asked what she enjoys most about her job at VFH, she replies that she loves hands-on radio production. After serving as an intern for the Virginia Festival of the Book in 2005, Diane Oaks joined the staff as a development offi cer. Diane relocated to Charlottesville from Philadelphia after completing a master’s degree in English at Arcadia University. Prior to Twenty-seven representatives from the VFH arriving at VFH, Diane worked in corporate marketing for Anheuser-Busch Th eme Parks and the Virginia Association of Museums in San Diego and Philadelphia. She was also employed as a television news producer for gathered at the Valentine Richmond His- C-SPAN. At the VFH, Diane assists with fundraising, government relations, and public tory Center on January 12th for Humanities Advocacy Day. Advocates included a number relations, and provides administrative support for the Online Virginia Encyclopedia. of VFH staff and board members, as well as Matthew Gibson serves as the editor of the Online Virginia Encyclopedia. He began former fellows, project directors, and repre- work at the VFH in October 2005 after receiving his PhD in English from the University sentatives from Virginia’s diverse museum of Virginia. Before coming to the VFH, Matthew worked at the UVA Library Electronic community. Our advocates met with nearly Text Center where he was assistant director and then associate director. In these capacities 40 legislators that day! To volunteer, or for more information, call 434-924-3296 or e-mail he gained a wealth of experience with electronic scholarly projects and digital text creation. [email protected]. However, the experience that Matthew treasures most is being a father of two children. Trey Mitchell also joined the VFH Pictured from front, left to right are: Barbara Fried, VFH Board; Deborah Lee, Former Fel- staff in October 2005. He serves as the low; Nancy Damon, VFH; Andrew Wyndham, VFH web master. Prior to coming to VFH; Roberta Culbertson, VFH; Vicki Miller, the VFH, Trey worked in the UVA Web VFM Photography and Design; Rhoda Drey- Communications Offi ce where he was fus, VFH Board; Jon Lohman, VFH; Shirley senior web developer. He holds a bach- Bridgeforth, Waynesboro Heritage Foundation; Karenne Wood, VFH; Althea Brooks, VFH; Du- elor of science degree in electronic media Bose Egleston, Waynesboro Heritage Founda- management from Northern Arizona tion; David Bearinger, VFH; Andrew Chancey, University. In his spare time Trey enjoys VFH; Diane Oaks, Online Virginia Encyclope- making and playing bass guitars and being dia; Christina Draper, VFH; Lynda Myers, VFH; a father of three. Rob Vaughan, VFH; and Tori Talbot, VFH. 11 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 170 Virginia Foundation Charlottesville, VA for the Humanities 145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA 22903-4629

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Nominationsfor board membership may be sent to: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903-4629

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities 2005 – 2006 Board of Directors

B. Miles Barnes Michael J. Galgano Eastern Shore Public Library James Madison University Accomac, VA Harrisonburg, VA

David Baldacci Charles M. Guthridge David Baldacci Enterprises Charles M. Guthridge Associates Reston, VA Richmond, VA Peter Blake Virginia Community College System Ronald L. Heinemann with Barbara Kingsolver Richmond, VA Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney, VA Robert H. Brink and John McCutcheon EB&T Strategy Group Maurice A. Jones General Assembly of Virginia The Virginian-Pilot Hosted by David Baldacci Arlington, VA Norfolk, VA

L. Preston Bryant, Jr. Anna L. Lawson Commonwealth of Virginia Daleville, VA Richmond, VA A B e n e fi t fo r th e Vir gini a Elaine Dowe Carter James D. Lott Stuart Hall Christiansburg Institute Fo un da tio n Ce nt e r fo r th e B o ok Staunton, VA Christiansburg, VA an d it s lit e r a cy p r o gr am s Audrey Davis Lydia Peale Alexandria Black History Museum Palmyra, VA Alexandria, VA Bittle W. Porterfield, III Su nd ay, M arch 2 6, 2006 Rhoda Dreyfus Rice Management Charlottesville, VA Roanoke, VA 4:00 PM Johanna R. Drucker W. Taylor Reveley University of Virginia College of William & Mary The Par amou nt The ater Charlottesville, VA Williamsburg, VA C har l o tt esvill e, Virginia John P. Fishwick, Jr. On th e Hist o ri c Do wn t o wn Mall Lichtenstein, Fishwick & Johnson, Robert C. Vaughan, III Attorneys at Law Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Roanoke, VA Charlottesville, VA Barbara J. Fried For tick e t s , c all (434) 97 9-1 3 3 3 Fried Companies, Inc. William C. Wiley Crozet, VA Midlothian, VA