S N A P S H O T
Christy Coleman in
A Surprising Role
at the American Civil War Center
by Leah Small
nquiring brows in Richmond were raised when Christy Coleman became
I
the first African-American president of the American Civil War Center. In the
former seat of the Confederacy this would be a paradox—or is it?
The museum’s mission statement is to “tell the whole story of the conflict
that still shapes our lives.” At the time of the museum’s opening in 2006, this
goal was regarded skeptically. Alex Wise, the museum’s founder, is the great-
great grandson of Governor Henry Wise, who was responsible for the hanging
of John Brown and Nat Turner. Due to his background and Richmond’s history,
some in the African-American community questioned how balanced the museum’s
presentation of the war would be.
There were also objections from some members of Richmond’s white community.
How dare a Virginian with strong Confederate ties present a point of view that
questions the South’s constitutional right to defend itself? One critic of the museum
was adamant that too much emphasis was being put on the African-American
perspective. He decided to stop by the president’s office to let his objections be
heard.
Christy paraphrased the gentleman as saying “the mere fact,” that she was
president “has reinforced my opinion that this is a black museum. If that’s what
they wanted, that’s what they should have said in the first place.”
“Could it be that the African-American part of the story seems to take up so
much space to you because it’s the part with which you are least familiar?” she
responded.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
Often visitors of both races must reconcile with a new view. Many African
Americans are offended that the Confederacy is even given a voice. “We’ve
made everyone mad. That means we’ve probably gotten it right,” Christy says
about the museum’s mission to give an unbiased account.
Christy views the museum’s purpose as challenging the palatable narrative
that we have tried to mold. She accuses black and white Americans of writing
biased falsities in that narrative. In order to do so, we have “simplified things.”
She is quick to point out that history is complex, but we deny its gradations to
tell a story we believe. The museum seeks to refute American Civil War mythos
by telling the story from the individual perspectives of those living at the time. As
a result, the visitor gains a feel of the social dynamics of the era. This is why the
museum “flies in the face of the established narrative.”
The museum also aims to show the complexities of the slave experience in
Richmond. “Not everyone was out picking cotton.” Tredegar, the old iron works
where the museum is located, relied on the labor of skilled black tradesmen,
slave and free. Many slaves worked part time for wages and rented property
where they lived with their free or enslaved family members.
To Christy, the existence in Richmond of a museum that prides itself on its
unbiased presentation of the Civil War “spoke volumes about the evolution of
this community.” She sees this as a time unlike her adolescence: schools may
have been integrated, “but we were not engaged with each other,” she says.
To Christy, Richmond is more prepared to discuss the implications of this conflict
on the whole community, not just on Southern legacy. Perhaps with increased
discussion and exposure we can put aside our biases in order to deconstruct the
false historical narrative. V
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• MARCH 2010

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