Cross-Cultural Communication at Home: Changing the Discourse on UVas Slave Past

By Nicole Bailey Under the Mentorship of Professor Lawrie Balfour

A research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Program in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law, University of Virginia. 4 May 2013

On my Honor as a student, I have neither given nor received aid on this capstone project. __________________________________________

Bailey 2 Acknowledgements I owe immense gratitude to my mentors and colleagues, without whom this research would not have been possible. I must first thank Professor Colin Bird, to whom I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a member of the Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law Class of 2013. I cannot give gratitude enough to Professor Lawrie Balfour, who has been a brilliant, kind, and attentive thesis advisor. She has been an exceptional mentor in every respect, and I am sincerely thankful to have worked with her on this final capstone. I must also thank Faculty Fellow Daniel Doneson, who facilitated a seminar and provided feedback without which my paper would be of a much lesser quality. I also cannot credit enough Professors Phyllis Leffler and Frank Dukes, whose class not only helped me immensely in the content of my research but is also a source of inspiration to me. I hope the Race and Repair seminar continues long after I graduate. I must thank Professor Loren Lomasky for advising me in the project in its earliest stages. I am also grateful to the Undergraduate Research Network for providing me with the opportunity to present this project at the Spring 2013 Symposium and share my work. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the undergraduate and graduate students who were invaluable resources throughout this project. I am grateful to Ian Sander for his sincere commitment to sharing public history and for his assistance with the University Guide Service primary materials; to Lauren Turek, whom I have been honored to have as a teacher and whose guidance is indispensable; and to Taylor Gist, the friend with whom one conversation began this entire work.

Bailey 3 Introduction [T]his aint nothing but a big ole plantationand everybodys tryin to get in the Big House.1

The Big House referenced above is the University of Virginia. Slavery was one of the most painful themes in the Universitys past and historically affected its image in the region. Despite the Universitys elite status as an educational institution, slaves had no illusions about what Mr. Jeffersons University meant for them. As far as life went for its most unappreciated members, the University of Virginia was truly not much different from a big ole plantation. However, the words describing the University of Virginia as a plantation are not those of a slave in 1825. Rather, they can be traced to an ordinary Charlottesville community member in 1995. There are broad gaps in the historical record of slavery and its aftermath at the University of Virginia. For the purposes of this paper the legacy of slavery can be defined as consisting of the institution of slavery present at the University of Virginias founding and essential to its establishment, the continuation of that institution and its contemporary effects (e.g., mistreatment of free blacks in the vicinity of Grounds), subsequent institutions or programs that followed2, or any combination of the above. Slave legacy, slavery and its legacy, legacy of slavery, and slavery and its aftermath will be used interchangeably. The only secondary surveys of the available university records are unpublished papers3 by students and some limited contributions
Kendra Hamilton, "Hiding in Plain Sight: Labor and the University of Virginia," Rotunda Fire Research Committee, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1995). 2 Examples of such programs or institutions range from Jim Crow to Massive Resistance to eugenics. 3 Catherine S. Neale, "Enslaved People and the Early Life of the University of Virginia," Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 2005).; Jennifer Oast, ""Faithful and Valuable:" Slavery at Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Virginia, and Hollins College," (Virginia), Chapter 5.; Meredith Storton, "The University of Virginia Survives: A University in the Midst of the Civil War," HIUS 4501 (Charlottesville).; Kendra Hamilton, "Hiding in Plain Sight: Labor and the University of Virginia," Rotunda Fire Research Committee, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1995).; Allison Sims Linney, "African-Americans and the Construction of the University of Virginia," HIUS 404 Independent Study (Charlottesville, 1993).
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Bailey 4 from outside the University4. Most notable is Gayle M. Schulman, a local historian who wrote an essay that was cited in undergraduate student Catherine Neales work. Neales paper, still unpublished seven years after its completion, remains the most comprehensive secondary survey of the University of Virginias slave history to date. The small amount of accessible information on this subject is rarely taught or publicized. This paper will answer two questions: (1) What is the relationship between the University of Virginia and its historical slave legacy? (2) Must something be done in the present-day to reconcile problems resulting from that history? First, ignorance about the past legacy of slavery is prevailing, significant, and harmful to the University of Virginia today; second, there are concrete steps the institution should take to diminish that ignorance. In the first section, criticisms of the need to examine the difficult past will be addressed. The idea that the past affects the present will be demonstrated in the context of the University of Virginias legacy of slavery; the idea that the present has a moral obligation to remember the past will be introduced. The second section will use cross-cultural communication theory to support a case for the University of Virginias moral obligation to educate the present about its legacy of slavery. The third section will examine alternative theories of reconciling the Universitys slave legacy. It will be explained why each proposed solution is problematic and fails to satisfy the moral obligation delineated in the second section. The fourth section will introduce several solutions that would successfully fulfill the Universitys moral obligation to slavery and its legacy. The fifth section will conclude.

Bailey 5 I. The Historical Disease Argument There is a well-established literature opposing the revival of historical memory on painful issues in general. As early as 1874, the core of the opposition was expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche.5 This argument will be referenced as the historical disease argument, to use the authors own words. The historical disease argument can be summarized as the view that history is not inherently desirable and, more importantly, can be harmful to modern progress6. This section begins by exploring Nietzsches historical disease argument in detail and then connecting it to modern debates about the past. Nietzsche argues, There is a degree of insomnia, of rumination, of the historical sense, through which something living comes to harm and finally perishes, whether it is a person or a people or a culture. A certain degree of fixation on the past is undesirable for individuals and for society. Nietzsche continues with a description of the effects of the historical disease on the soul of the modern man: Historical knowledge streams out of inexhaustible sources in on him, always renewing itself with more...Memory opens all its gates and is nevertheless not open wide enough...Modern man finally drags a huge crowd of indigestible rocks of knowledge around with him Therefore, those who are obsessed with history will never be satisfied with the available knowledge and will be consumed by the desire to achieve more. Proponents of the historical disease argument in the present day, like Nietzsche, believe that obsession with the past can be harmful to the present. More specifically, they claim that history is a significant distraction from what is truly important in human life. Nietzsche continues, He [man] must organize the chaos in himself by
Friedrich Nietzsche, "On the Use and Abuse of History for Life," Vancouver Island University, ed. Transl. Ian Johnston, 2010 (Revised Edition), http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/nietzsche/history.htm (accessed May 4, 2013). 6 Although it must be acknowledged that Nietzsche explores several variants of history over the course of his lifetime, his full conception of history and its types are beyond the scope of this paper. Only the philosophers ideas on how history might be detrimental are relevant to the historical disease argument and therefore only those are discussed.
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Bailey 6 recalling in himself his own real needs. His honesty, his more courageous and more genuine character, must at some point or other struggle against what will only be constantly repeated, relearned, and imitated. Nietzsche is asserting that the modern fixation on history, or what will only be constantly repeated, relearned, and imitated, is not only a distraction from mans7 real needs and self-improvement, but is so significant a distraction as to have a damaging effect on his soul and therefore his living. History, in this view, is not even very useful. After all, the historian is powerless to stop its repetition regardless of the quantity of his knowledge. Nietzsche necessarily separates mans needs and improvement from the historical disease in order to describe how the latter might interfere with the former. Echoes of Nietzsches ideas can be found in recent history. A 1996 commentator on the Balkan Peninsula, in precisely similar language, bemoaned the regions excess of history.8 As an academic example, colonial critic Frantz Fanon writes, I am not a prisoner of history.9 The same author later writes, These Negros and white men will be disalienated who refuse to let themselves be sealed away in the materialized Tower of the Past...It is through the effort to recapture the self and to scrutinize the self, it is through the lasting tension of their freedom that men will be able to create the ideal conditions of existence for a human world.10 Like Nietzsche, Fanon considered the past to be a potential form of isolation that distracts individuals to improve the self and the world. The historical disease argument has even been applied in the relevant context of the legacy of slavery in the United States. One such example is that of an elderly black woman, who in 1999 agreed that painful history could be quite harmful with respect to the formation of a commission to investigate the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. She commented in a local
As previously stated, man may represent a person or a people or a culture. Robert R. Weyeneth, "The Power of Apology and the Process of Historical Reconciliation," The Public Historian (University of California Press) 23, no. 3 (Summer 2001): 9-38. 9 Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, trans. Charles L. Markmann (New York City, NY: Grove Press, 1967). 10 Ibid.
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Bailey 7 newspaper that she was not sure of the need to stir up stuff even though she had been a direct victim of the riot.11 It is apparent that Nietzsches historical disease argument has remained active in debates about reconciliation through to the present day. In the context of this paper, the historical disease argument implies that fixating on the University of Virginias slave history will not only distract from the institutions progress, but will threaten its present existence. In this view, the University of Virginia would not necessarily be improved by revisiting its slave past, that past is not desirable for its own sake12, and that past is undesirable to the extent that it is a danger to the universitys current existence. The unchecked historical sense is external to whatever is relevant for the present and future and therefore their improvement. Similarly, the woman who resisted the Tulsa Race Riot commission thought they ought to let a dead dog lie dead, and suggested that retroactive fixation on the past might reverse current progress in race relations. She, like Nietzsche, believed individuals and society must focus on their betterment moving forward from the present - there is no use for anybody to stir up the past. If the historical disease argument is accepted, then the University of Virginias slave history and that historys legacy are unrelated to its present and future identity and improvement. However, the counterargument to resisting the historical disease is twofold. First, institutional history including the legacy of slavery is consequential to present-day decisionmaking and life at the University of Virginia and is therefore relevant to the institutions current progress. Second, there is a moral obligation to preserve historical memory. The first point will

Robert R. Weyeneth, "The Power of Apology and the Process of Historical Reconciliation," The Public Historian (University of California Press) 23, no. 3 (Summer 2001): 9-38. 12 Besides the fact that Nietzsche makes this claim explicitly elsewhere in the aforementioned work, there would not be such a concern over unchecked historical exploration if it were inherently desirable.

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Bailey 8 be examined in detail in the present section, while the second will be addressed in the next section. In the 21st century, the University of Virginia is still affected by its history in a multitude of ways, including how the institution presents itself. The schools buildings are named not only for the highest present-day donors, but also for historical figures who played an important role in University history. Alderman Library and first-year residential dorms are examples of this phenomenon. In addition, the institution itself maintains an internal site, All About the University, with much historical information available to the public including a timeline, multiple virtual historical tours, and independent walking tours13. The University also hosts events commemorating its own history, such as Founders Day honoring Thomas Jefferson as the founder of the school. Founders Day is an annual event organized by the Office of Major Events on the same level as graduation and commencement.14 The University Guide Service (UGS) provides empirical evidence supporting the importance of history in constructing the University of Virginias brand. UGS is a Special Status student organization that provides historical and admissions tours of the University during the academic year, and its influence is evidenced by the popularity of its tours. As of Spring 2013, there was enough demand for 5 regularly scheduled historical tours every day with the exceptions of student holidays these tours are open to the public and require no advance registration. The high consumer demand for historical knowledge of the University and its Grounds indicates that the past is significant for visitors to the University and its public relations.

Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, All About the University, July 16, 2009, http://www.virginia.edu/aboutuva.html (accessed May 4, 2013). 14 Office of Major Events, Founder's Day: University of Virginia, March 14, 2013, http://www.virginia.edu/foundersday/ (accessed May 4, 2013).

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Bailey 9 The University of Virginias history also affects the lives of everyday community members. Particularly because the institution emphasizes history in its personal narrative, excluding aspects of its slave legacy history is problematic. The University and Community Action for Racial Equity (UCARE)15 issued a report, A Call for Reflection and Action, which describes Resentment about distortions and omissions of history and image at the University of Virginia with respect to its slave past. In the same report, a Charlottesville resident remarked, The perception that Jefferson is all heroic hurts with people who see him as a slave owner.16 The report notes, A student may spend four years and more with no exposure to a more complete history. A faculty member may be recruited, gain tenure and retire without ever having to confront that history. And a visitor may peruse the Grounds without noticing any uncomfortable intrusion of that history upon the landscape.17 The anecdotal evidence presented by UCARE resonates with many members of the Charlottesville and University communities.18 Negative consequences have emerged from collective ignorance about the history of the legacy of slavery. For example, a building in the University of Virginias medical complex is named Jordan Hall after Dr. Harvey Jordan, a former medical school dean. However, Dr. Jordan was also a member of the Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America white supremacist organization, teacher of medical students who eventually led the notoriously unethical Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and prominent eugenicist during a time when thousands of Virginians were involuntarily sterilized at the University of Virginia.19 There is also a Harvey E. Jordan

UCARE was founded following state and university resolutions expressing regret for their respective slave histories. 16 University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Call for Reflection and Action (Charlottesville, 2012). 17 Ibid. 18 Countless similar expressions can be found in research such as Kendra Hamiltons Hiding in Plain Sight, in the local media such as in The Cavalier Daily and The Daily Progress, in statements by student groups such as the Living Wage Campaign, and in community efforts such as the Jefferson School African American Heritage Centers oral history collaborations. 19 University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Call for Reflection and Action (Charlottesville, 2012).

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Bailey 10 Professorship of Anatomy, an endowment in the medical school with a positive depiction of Jordans legacy at the University20. If the University of Virginia chooses to represent its history in physical spaces and endowments, then it should represent the full complexity of that history. There are Virginians alive at the time of this papers composition who were involuntarily sterilized as a result of Dean Jordans legacy21. The University is sending a harmful message to those who were historically wronged that its past injustices have not only been forgotten, but have been replaced by narratives censored for positive publicity. Previously, UGS also highlights the relative scarcity of information about the Universitys slave past. It is important to note that UGS has been working over the course of several decades to explore some of the missing history and to create initiatives for the incorporation of what is known of that history. Former Guides such as Maurie McInnis, current Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Professor and University alumna, readily acknowledge the massive improvements that have been made in the content of the tours and the attention of UGS to this issue. The UGS ball, an annual fundraising event, sent proceeds to an organization at the University of Virginia supporting a Memorial for Enslaved Laborers for the first time in academic year 2012-2013. Despite these efforts, the general scarcity of information about the legacy of slavery on UGS tours persists. There is both a general lack of relevant information and a reluctance to present existing information that still pose challenges. Evidence of the need for further progress can be found in the Probationary Packet (i.e., training manual) for all UGS members, who must undergo a rigorous probationary semester of training before becoming full Guides.

Campaign for the University, Harvey E. Jordan Professorship of Anatomy, http://im.dev.virginia.edu/endowments/professorships/long_name/schoolofmedicine/cellbiology/harveyejordanprofe ssorshipofanatomy/ (accessed May 4, 2013). 21 Associated Press, "Va. eugenics victim seeks an apology," The Daily Progress, February 6, 2001.

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Bailey 11 The Morawetz Probationary Packet for Spring 2013 includes 560 pages containing much of the factual information needed to develop a comprehensive historical tour22. Acknowledgement of slaves and slave history in this manual is relatively sparse. For example, there are three full pages of information on the Pavilion Gardens (269-271). Despite the fact that the Gardens were places where slaves cooked and worked on a daily basis, the manual does not mention enslaved labor in this section. One might learn upon completing this section that the Albemarle Pippin apple trees in Garden V bear one of Jeffersons favorite apples yet still lack the knowledge that slaves once worked there. Another example is the two-page coverage of UVa and the Civil War (344-345), which discusses greater engineering demand and the strenuous and uncomfortable life experience of the Confederate soldiers while avoiding the topic of slavery. UGS has made efforts to incorporate slavery into certain sections of the Probationary Packet. However, those sections would benefit from an increase in both content quantity and detail quality. 3.5 pages of training on Slavery and the University of Virginia is not enough, considering how critical enslaved labor was to the Universitys establishment and its continued success for long after. There is a special History of African-Americans (HAA) tour that presents more information on the legacy of slavery. The HAA tour is a point of progress to the extent that it encourages UGS members to share aspects of history that might not otherwise be included in a standard tour. Nevertheless, it cannot be a complete solution because, as long as it exists, that information will be somewhat separated from that included in a standard tour. The separate reality of the HAA tour is mirrored in the Probationary Packet itself: the Timeline of African-Americans at UVa (426-430) is a separate section in the manual and was compiled by a

It must be recognized that Guides also partake in a lecture series that supplements the reading in the probationary packet. However, the text of the packet is useful as a representative sample of UGS training.

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Bailey 12 special Diversity Chair in academic year 2009-2010. Even though the Diversity Chair worked to include more of this information, that effort should be considered far from complete: the slavery section and African-American timeline are less than 10 pages combined. One document internal to the organization is titled A Comprehensive Guide to Giving History of African American Tours. Not only is the document less than seven pages, but it also includes the subheading Now You Have NO EXCUSE Not to Give These Tours!23 Although the document may be a precursor to the HAA timeline now included in the Morawetz packet, the subheading alone indicates the challenges UGS faces in trying to present this information. If African-American history were included throughout the sections on the Universitys regular history, then the separate sections and special tours would not be necessary. If everyone were prepared and comfortable with sharing the history, this Comprehensive Guide would also not be necessary. If the Universitys past is important and knowledge of that past is meaningful, as UGSs success suggests, then the providers of historical information must make improvements to incorporating the crucial legacy of slavery a top priority. To conclude the first section, the past inevitably informs the present. The perceived discrepancy in historical narratives between the University of Virginia and Charlottesville communities, the nomenclature of endowments and physical structure at the University, and the University Guide Service historical tours popularity are but a handful of examples affirming the significance of the past. Especially at an institution like the University of Virginia, which consciously emphasizes its historical importance, the past cannot be escaped. Ultimately, the celebration of former Dean Harvey Jordan and the fact that UGSs goal of adequately addressing

See Appendix C for a full copy of A Comprehensive Guide to Giving History of African American Tours, which includes much of the HAA tour information in the Morawetz Probationary Packet.

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Bailey 13 UVas slave past has not yet been realized both demonstrate the ongoing obligation of the University to overcome its ignorance.

Bailey 14 II. Cross-cultural Communication and Moral Responsibility Hannah Arendt wrote that man, by virtue of being born into a historical continuum, is burdened by the sins of the father as it is blessed with the deeds of the ancestors (298)24. This perspective is quite vague. Certainly, humans today are blessed by the modern conveniences developed by generations past, but it is less evident to what extent they are truly burdened by inherited sins. Such a notion is decidedly distinct from the first sections argument that the past affects the present. Arendts words imply that there is not only a pragmatic but a moral consequence to past sins. It is not sufficient to accept or reject the idea that past wrongs have moral consequences based on pre-formed ideology. Cross-cultural communication theory supports the moral side of education about past injustice. Even more importantly, it provides a framework for crafting a solution capable of addressing the problem of ignorance about it. This section will begin with a series of definitions of cross-cultural communication terms. Subsequently it will examine why modern groups should maintain cultural competence using broad historical examples and then show how a lack of cultural competence was harmful in the case of the University of Virginias legacy of slavery. A more detailed explanation of the relationship between historical knowledge and cultural competence will follow. Finally, this section will briefly explore why cultural competency training is desirable for both the University itself and for individuals in the University community. The relatively emerging field of cross-cultural communication yields insights that solidify the moral argument against historical ignorance, but first its terms must be defined. This paper draws upon the broad survey of Samavar, Porter, and McDaniel because it has been cited over 900 times in other published scholarly articles and because it relates to the more personal

24

Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (New York: Penguin Books, 1964).

Bailey 15 aspects of communication25 as opposed to studies of businesses, national governments, or other large-scale group interactions. The relatively simple definitions for communication and for culture Samavar et al. establish are as follows: Communication is the management of messages with the objective of creating meaning26; Culture is the rules for living and functioning in society27. Cross-cultural communication can therefore be understood as the management of messages with the objective of creating meaning across varying paradigms of rules for living and functioning in society. A humans capacity for participating effectively in cross-cultural communication must begin with the basic understanding that alternative cultural paradigms to his or her own exist. That capacity to understand varying paradigms is cultural competency. Although the cross-cultural communication terminology is novel, the concept of culture is far from unique to the present day. In the seventeenth century, Benedictus de Spinoza understood that humans had two natures: one that is natural to them by virtue of being human, and a second nature that includes the difference of their language, their customs and their laws or a peculiar disposition, a peculiar manner of life, and peculiar prejudices28. In other words, Spinozas second nature is the rules for living and functioning in society a synonym for Samavar et al.s culture. Despite the fact that culture is not a new idea, the importance of cultural competency has only been emphasized in modern scholarship. For example, Moira Gatens and Genevieve Lloyd apply Spinozas ideas in an innovative way to contemporary liberal democracies. This case survey is only now possible because of the large sample of post-colonial dominant powers,

Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter and Edwin R. McDaniel, Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 13 (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012). 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Moira Gatens and Genevieve Lloyd, Collective Imaginings: Spinoza, Past and Present (New York: Routledge, 2002).

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Bailey 16 paradigm cases of the enduring presence of past encounters with radical difference (139)29. Historically, the failure on the part of dominant groups to recognize those who were colonized (i.e., a different culture) most often resulted in a failure to recognise the common humanity of those who were colonised and so frequently they were treated with less concern and dignity than animals (139)30. In other words, dominant colonizers lacked cultural competency. Gatens and Lloyd found that modern groups that had committed historical injustice must maintain conscious awareness of others cultures to avoid repeating the same failures. It is important to establish that the emphasis on cultural competency is not associated with assigning blame. For reasons that will be defined more clearly later in this section, individuals and institutions have a responsibility to promote cultural competency. Yet this responsibility, what Iris Marion Young terms the social connection model of responsibility, does not assign blame or fault, but rather enjoins a political responsibility to organize collective action for change31 In other words, everyone has an interest in upholding a moral and responsible society and should support reconciling the past. Even more directly, Young writes, History matters in the social connection model, but not in order to reproach, punish, or demand compensating damages.32 History is crucial regardless of the fact that modern day perpetrators and victims do not necessarily need to be identified in every case. Under the social connection model of responsibility, the best solutions do not reproach, punish, or demand compensating damages. The University of Virginia and its administrators, students, and faculty members historically lacked cultural competency and failed to understand African-Americans as a group.

29 30

Ibid. Ibid. 31 Iris Marion Young, Responsibility for Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010). 32 Ibid.

Bailey 17 The denial of the existence of a legitimate African-American culture allowed the University to treat its slaves without respect for their humanity or dignity. The dominant groups denial of and disgust with black culture continued long after emancipation, and it even persisted through Reconstruction and local segregation. There is ample evidence of this phenomenon. One notable example is the closing of the Lawn,33 which was largely a result of the University of Virginia administrations disdain for the black community on the south end of the Lawn.34 They hoped to remove the visibility of the Canada community, which included all types of blacks, from view of the Grounds. The importance of cultural competency has only grown in an increasingly globalized world, and is clearly relevant in the context of the University of Virginias legacy of slavery. Members of the University of Virginia community should be culturally competent because otherwise they are unable to participate in modern discourse about University issues, which often draw on history. An example of a modern issue that requires historical knowledge about the University of Virginias slave legacy is race-based employment disparities. Limitations to colored workers at the University persisted long after the emancipation of slaves, as expressed in the quotation describing the institution as a plantation with which this paper began. One scholar wrote in 1995, blacks were restricted to low-level occupations in the University [of Virginia] and its medical center--a condition that some black residents of the Charlottesville area perceive as continuing unabated to this day.35 Education about the origins of the problem are important regardless of ones personal opinions on microeconomic theory, higher education
33 I.e., the construction of classroom buildings effectively blocking off the extended view of the city from the Grounds of the University. 34 Proctors Papers, Faculty Resolutions, University of Virginia, Box 7 1827-1828, April 23, 1828.; Proctors Papers, Faculty Resolutions, University of Virginia, Box 7 1827-1828, May 20, 1828.; Proctor William Kemper, Proctors Papers, Proctors Report, University of Virginia, Box 15, 1843-1847, June 25, 1847.; Minutes, Board of Visitors, University of Virginia June 29, 1867: 884. 35 Kendra Hamilton, "Hiding in Plain Sight: Labor and the University of Virginia," Rotunda Fire Research Committee, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1995).

Bailey 18 business models, or the living wage campaign because one cannot possibly engage in building a solution without understanding from where others are approaching the problem. Another instance in which historical knowledge is useful to modern understanding is in the physical space of the Office of African-American Affairs (OAAA). OAAAs location can be traced back to 1976, when the committee that called for its establishment advised that the Dawsons Row sites ought to be considered as temporary...As better space becomes available and the Dean begins to refine the mission of the Office, relocation of the Office ought to be a primary concern.36 Many administrative offices, academic departments, and student dormitories have been created, demolished, or modified since. OAAA was arguably not treated as a primary concern as other projects were proposed, contracted, and completed over the course of several decades. No plans have emerged from the administration since OAAAs founding addressing relocation. The last examples illustrating the need for University community members to understand the University of Virginias historical legacy of slavery are those of housing and health disparities in the greater Charlottesville area. These modern issues cannot be addressed in a temporal vacuum, because the University has largely contributed to the local housing and health crises. Because the University of Virginia is the dominant health provider for a large area, it can provide services on an economy of scale at a high efficiency, thereby eliminating smaller competitors and erecting barriers to entry for other potential health providers. In addition, because the University of Virginia attracts many relatively wealthy students, accepts a greater number of students each year, and does not offer enough University housing to accommodate its students, landlords can afford to charge a much higher rate and local housing prices have increased and continue to increase steeply.
36

Task Force on Afro-American Affairs, "An Audacious Faith," University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1987).

Bailey 19 These disparities, even when controlled for factors such as education and socioeconomic status, are strongly linked to race. Some argue that that correlation can be explained by the University of Virginias historical marginalization of African Americans throughout slavery and its aftermath. Charlottesville City representatives and members of the University administration alike believe these issues should have high priority. One of many examples of this fact is the existence of the Office for Diversity within the University of Virginia School of Medicine, which includes leaders of the UVA Center on Health Disparities addressing the aforementioned issue directly. Even more specifically, the administration seems to realize the importance of race-based cultural competency education. To continue the example of University of Virginia health system, the University Hospital has generated some training documentation to help eliminate race-based health care disparities.37 Individual members of the University community must be historically aware and culturally competent not only to understand these problems which are often subconscious but also to move towards resolving them.

Sheryl Heron, Antoine Kazzi and Marcus L. Martin, Monograph on Cultural Competency, University of Virginia School of Medicine, http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/culture/ (accessed May 4, 2013).
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III. Solutions and Their Problems In the third section this paper aims to address some of those ideas that have already been posed as a means of reconciling the University of Virginias slave past but do not meet the most preferable conditions. To reiterate, the moral obligation to promote cultural competence defined in the second section requires that the solution educates the present about the past not only in theory but also in practice. Additionally, the best system will avoid the liability problem that arises by attempting to identify perpetrators and victims for wrongs that were committed in the past (or a system that results from wrongs that were committed in the past). Avoiding this liability problem is no more than a restatement of the social connection model of responsibility borrowed from Young as previously described. One might argue that a solution that educates the present about the past in theory, educates the present about the past in practice, and avoids the liability problem does not exist. However, this concern will be addressed in the fourth section following the dismissal of alternatives in the present section. The present section will address four solutions in turn - expressions of regret or apology, physical memorials, reparations, and affirmative action - and explain why even the best form of each solution fails to meet the three preferable conditions. 1. Expressions of Apology or Regret Some advocate for statements of apology or regret as solutions or important steps for reconciling past wrongs and their resulting legacies. There are a few obvious political and ideological reasons for objections to apology or regret. The most common protest is a variation of the words of a Californian whose community was asked to apologize to Native Americans in 1996: Youre asking people who didnt do wrong to apologize to people who werent the actual

Bailey 21 victims.38 Others expressed concern over the slippery slope of endless, hollow apologizing.39 All of these points of contention are highly politicized and are unlikely to be resolved. A more compelling justification of apology or regret is needed in order to overcome these basic criticisms. Indeed, the strongest case for apologies transcends the aforementioned concerns. Apologies can be problematic solutions if they are nothing more than symbolic restitution; nevertheless, they can also ignite vigorous debate about history.40 A specific example that illustrates this phenomenon in the context of slavery is the consideration of an apology from the American government in 1997-1998: [O]ne African-American columnist in Boston argued that the debate itself became the apology. 'White folks need to study slavery, he wrote, and 'education is the apology....An apology, then, may derive power from the ability to compel the present to think about the past. It is the conversation about history that is important, rather than judgments about crimes and culpability.41 Those who support apologies as solutions believe that the debate surrounding the American governments proposed apology for slavery in 1997-98 (described in the quotation) is an analogous precedent for the types of meaningful discussions that would ensue from proposed apology at the University of Virginia. The controversy would push white folks...to study slavery and thereby make the community more understanding of those who identify with narratives of slavery and its aftermath. In other words, it could make individuals more culturally competent. The preceding logic would certainly be compelling in the particular case of the University of Virginia and the legacy of slavery if it had been borne out in reality. In 2007, both
Robert R. Weyeneth, "The Power of Apology and the Process of Historical Reconciliation," The Public Historian (University of California Press) 23, no. 3 (Summer 2001): 9-38. 39 For a list of various critics, see page 26 in Robert R. Weyeneth, "The Power of Apology and the Process of Historical Reconciliation," The Public Historian (University of California Press) 23, no. 3 (Summer 2001): 9-38. 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid.
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Bailey 22 the Virginia General Assembly and the University of Virginia Board of Visitors passed resolutions regarding their respective histories with the institution of slavery. The language of this resolution, particularly the transition from apology to regret, was explored and discussed in academia.42 Nevertheless, both resolutions had little effect in the area most relevant to success as explained in Weyeneths piece: the lay communityin this case, the mainstream (i.e., nonhistorian) University of Virginia community. The only concrete change resulting from the University of Virginia resolution was the founding of UCARE, and UCARE itself acknowledges the mainstream inefficacy of the resolutions: UCARE thus spent the better part of a year visiting among our neighbors in the broader community, some of whom also work at the University, and asking these questions: Did you hear about the statement of regret for slavery issued by the General Assembly and the subsequent statement issued by the UVa Board of Visitors? What went through your mind when you heard about these? What do these statements mean to you?...The answers are disheartening for anyone who cares about the University or about the community. Few of the many dozens of people that we listened to inside and outside of the University had heard of either of the two statements, and those who were aware dismissed their importance.43 It is apparent that if education is the apology, then a literal apology is not sufficient. In the case of the University of Virginia, expressions of regret failed not only to stimulate discussion but also to become common knowledge. 2. Physical Memorials The same concerns apply to physical memorials. Although a physical memorial might represent the institutions acceptance of a more rich and true public history, it is most useful if it encourages exploration of the past. Nevertheless, very few non-elites know about the current physical representations of the University of Virginias slave past. Most do not notice the plaque

Lawrie Balfour, Democracy's Reconstruction: Thinking Politically with W.E.B. Du Bois (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). 43 University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Call for Reflection and Action (Charlottesville, 2012).

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Bailey 23 under the Rotunda that serves as the current slave memorial.44 Some might argue that the location of the plaque is too obscure to warrant much attention. Yet the highly visible statue of Thomas Jefferson on the opposite side of the Rotunda from the Lawn proves to be a counterexample.45 The statue fails to produce much educational value, despite the fact that it represents much rich local history, particularly that of religious freedom, and was intended to be an educational tool.46 Regardless, few University students, faculty members, staff, and Charlottesville community members understand its meaning. Even students who live nearby and walk past them daily largely ignore the historical Canada free black community site, the Catherine Kitty Foster memorial outside the South Lawn, and the accompanying exhibit inside Nau Hall. While it might be useful for other reasons, a physical memorial (like expressions of regret) has not adequately fulfilled in practice the moral obligation to educate the present about the past. 3. Reparations Others might seek more direct compensation for past wrongs; one such mechanism is reparations. Many find the idea of modern American reparations to blacks for slavery appealing, as evidenced by the success of Randall Robinsons The Debt. Its defenders argue that a system of reparations changes the discursive image of African Americans from victims to creditors and revises the dominant narrative of American social, political, and economic history in order to emphasize the debt owed to African Americans.47 Supporters of the reparations movement realize the significance of the past. For example, one said, At one time I thought that slavery

See Appendix A, Figure 1. See Appendix A, Figure 2. 46 Bailey, Nicole. Stop and Stare. RelEvents. The Virginia Advocate. http://virginiaadvocate.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/stop-and-stare/, (accessed May 4, 2013). 47 Martha Biondi, "The Rise of the Reparations Movement," Radical History Review, 2003.
45

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Bailey 24 should be forgotten. But Ive changed my mind. Our families worked and got nothing.48 However, it is necessary to ask whether reparations would have the desired effect of educating the present about the past. Unlike expressions of regret or physical memorials, the University of Virginia has not undergone a program of reparations for its legacy of slavery. Yet even its proponents argue that reparations is dependent on the ability of its advocates to change public consciousness about slavery and segregation (Biondi 10). Therefore, educating the present about the past seems to be the stimulus for reparations rather than the effect. Although there might be other reasons for supporting reparations, there is no sound line of argument that reparations would be able to educate the present about the past. Even if reparations did have the required effect, there would remain a problem with the perpetrator and victim assumptions inherent in a model of reparations. Some argue, as previously mentioned, that reparations empowers African Americans as creditors instead of victims. However, the reality of reparations includes an unavoidable liability problem. One might argue that something is owed for uncompensated and undercompensated work in addition to the cost to generations of black families of discrimination and restricted access to public resources (Unreconstructed Democracy Balfour 41). Yet it is unclear who exactly owes that money. It is true that reparations can be [c]onceived as a massive investment in black communities, rather than a per capita payment.49 Despite the fact that reparations can be thought of as an investment, it still seems problematic to force others to invest in one particular community. Should other historically disadvantaged minorities thus be forced to invest in black communities? Even if one limits the pool of mandatory investors to whites, the liability problem persists. After all, in 2003,
Barbara Dodson Walker, qtd. in Tamara Audi, Payback for Slavery: Growing Push for Reparations Tries to Fulll Broken Promise, September 18, 2000, www.freep.com/news/nw/repay18_20000918.htm, (accessed May 4, 2013). 49 Lawrie Balfour, "Unreconstructed Democracy: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Case for Reparations," The American Political Science Review 97, no. 1 (February 2003): 33-44.
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Bailey 25 Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule found that most whites in the United States are descendants of post-emancipation immigrants.50 Lastly, there is also an issue concerning members of the black community who disagree with reparations as a solution. For example, Frantz Fanon writes in Black Skin, White Masks, I as a man of color, to the extent that it becomes possible for me to exist absolutely, do not have the right to lock myself into a world of retroactive reparations. (226-231). It seems individuals who fall into the victim category should have a say in how or even whether reparations go into effect. In conclusion it seems that although arguments for reparations have made great strides, reparations cannot be the solution to the moral problem posed in this paper because it fails all three conditions required by the ideal solution. 4. Affirmative Action There is an extensive literature on affirmative action and justice. Many argue that affirmative action is a just way to compensate those who are wronged by an unjust system. This argument does not only apply to the University of Virginia in the conventional sense of academic admission, but it has also been suggested for hiring and promoting more African-American workers to correct their severe underutilization.51 However, this defense of affirmative action inevitably faces the problem of identifying those disadvantaged (to benefit) and those benefitting (to disadvantage). In the case of slavery, the direct victims and perpetrators are long gone, so the classification of those who deserve the advantages or disadvantages in a system of affirmative action is no easy task. The strongest argument in favor of affirmative action

Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, Reparations for Slavery and Other Historical Injustices, Columbia Law Review 103.3 (April 2003): 689747. 51 For detailed statistics supporting the relative underutilization of African-American workers from the Muddy Floor report in 1996, see Appendix B.

50

Bailey 26 attempts to avoid the categorization of victims and perpetrators by focusing instead on social utility. Thomas Nagel constructs a social utility argument for compensatory discrimination (i.e., affirmative action).52 The salutary effect on the disadvantaged community of the visibility of exemplars in formerly inaccessible positions and the fact that the disadvantaged communitys needs are unlikely to be met otherwise indicate that there is significant social utility in affirmative action.53 An affirmative action supporter might say that allowing members of a disadvantaged class (i.e. descendants of slaves, victims of exclusion and segregation, others wronged by the legacy of slavery, etc.) to have access to upper-level positions will also grant more power and relevance to the narratives surrounding slave history. In other words, affirmative action can help educate the present about the past in theory. It is fair to concede that affirmative action can educate the present about the past in practice because of the influence of the first cohort of African Americans. There would be more of an impetus to acknowledge alternative perspectives on the University of Virginias historical presentation. Nevertheless, even if one allows for the generous assumptions that affirmative action would accomplish all of the above, it is not a satisfactory solution because it is inherently punitive. Those who did not commit historic injustice are punished as a result of that injustice for the benefit of those who were not direct victims. Affirmative action, even if based on social utility, fails to avoid the unjust categorization of perpetrators and victims. 5. Section Summary The conclusions for this section are summarized in the table below. The first column lists proposed solutions, and an abstract most preferable solution is presented first. The second,
Thomas Nagel, "Equal Treatment and Compensatory Discrimination," Philosophy & Public Affairs 2, no. 4 (1973): 348-363. 53 Ibid.
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Bailey 27 third, and fourth columns are conditions that are necessary for the ideal solution. The first condition is avoidance of the problems that arise from attempting to identify appropriate modern perpetrators and victims for past injustices.54 The second condition is a theoretical potential for the solution to educate the present day, mainstream University of Virginia community about its legacy of slavery. The third and final condition is the practical potential for the solution to educate the present day, mainstream University of Virginia community about its legacy of slavery. Where proposed solutions meet one of the ideal solutions conditions, the cell is checked and highlighted. None of the alternatives explored thus far successfully meet all three conditions. Proposed Solution Most preferable Apology or regret Physical memorial Reparations Affirmative action Avoids liability problem? Educates the present (in theory)? Educates the present (in practice)?

The model that looks to find fault and place blame is also known as the liability model of responsibility. For a detailed examination of the liability model of responsibility in contrast to the social connection model, see: Iris Marion Young, Responsibility for Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).

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Bailey 28

IV. Fulfilling the Obligation Although none of the previously introduced solutions meet all three conditions of the most preferable solution, some might argue that no such solution exists. The present section will dismiss this claim by outlining several possible solutions that do avoid the liability problem, educate the present about the past in theory, and educate the present about the past in practice. The fourth section will offer two suggestions (which are by no means exhaustive) and then conclude with an overview of measures in progress. 1. Research Catherine Neales previously mentioned survey of primary documents is what scholars agree is the definitive treatment of slavery at U.Va. to date.55 It is telling that Neale - although a notable scholar - was only an undergraduate student and that her work remains unpublished seven years after it was written. Neale herself said, I found it incredibly striking that there was not more scholarship about slavery and the UniversityThere was just nothing out there.56 New research is a necessary aspect of educating the present about the past because so little information is currently available. Because research requires no classification of perpetrators or victims and is required to uncover information with which to educate the present about the past, it is a critical element of the solution to fulfilling the moral obligation described in this paper. Institutions for research already exist but need higher financial prioritization in the University of Virginia budget so that more about the legacy of slavery can be shared with the community. The Office of African-American Affairs is very conscious about the University of

Brendan Wolfe, "Unearthing Slavery at the University of Virginia," The University of Virginia Magazine, U.Va. Alumni Association, March 2013, http://uvamagazine.org/features/article/unearthing_slavery_at_the_university_of_virginia (accessed May 4, 2013). 56 Ibid.

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Bailey 29 Virginias complex past and acknowledges its antecedents are based on slavery.57 Educating the present about the past is an integral part of OAAAs mission, which includes enhancing community sensitivity to the needs of a diverse student body and promoting interest in AfricanAmerican culture. Even more directly, the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies oversees the African-American and African Studies degree programs and facilitates research in that field. The Woodson Institute was founded in 1981, and has since been active in attracting black faculty, as well as pre- and post-doctoral fellows, to the University.58 The University should eliminate its endowment for an Anatomy Professor under the name of eugenicist Dean Harvey Jordan and endow a full-time professorship to a scholar who specializes in local race history, race history at universities, or race-based cultural competence. The professor would teach in the African and African-American Studies program as that program is interdisciplinary and does not currently have its own faculty and conduct research at the Carter G. Woodson Institute. This position would be an important step forward for the African and African-American Studies program, OAAA, and the Woodson Institute, and his or her work would push the University closer to realizing greater cultural competence. 2. Classes and Training Classes and training programs oriented towards helping members of the community understand each other are useful means of educating the present about the past in a way that is voluntary and non-punitive. Rather than requiring a UVa slave history class, for example, more classes that teach UVa slave history can be encouraged with financial support from the administration. Many professors, project directors, and even students at the University are allocated funding on the basis of incorporating one topic, one author, or even one particular book
Office of African-American Affairs, History, Office of African American Affairs, University of Virginia, November 30, 2010, http://www.virginia.edu/oaaa/history.html (accessed May 4, 2013). 58 Task Force on Afro-American Affairs, "An Audacious Faith," University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1987).
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Bailey 30 into their work. The fact that the University community as a whole would benefit would justify incentivizing a more common teaching of Catherine Neales survey of University slave history or more widespread awareness of the existence of the Virginia General Assemblys and the University Board of Visitors expressions of regret. Classes and training avoid the liability problem because they do not require finding fault. They also educate the present about the past in theory: making those at the University of Virginia more aware of (1) what is known about the Universitys slave legacy and (2) how little knowledge is available will encourage them to consider the connections between that ignorance and present day problems. Even more importantly, classes and training successfully educate the present about the past in practice. UCARE began creating student programs in 2010 that focus on illuminating alternative framings of the Universitys past and educating students on how to be more sensitive to the racial and cultural realities of the area.59 These programs consisted of various activities including interracial dialogue and Charlottesville histories, and they were presented as resources to student groups. For example, the Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP) has also made an effort to incorporate UCARE-prepared activities during the academic year. The Early Visions Program of the UVa Art Museum, which pairs University of Virginia student mentors with atrisk local students, reported great success with UCAREs training. Interns with the Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) in the Curry School of Education experienced similar positive results. Networking meetings connecting members of the University of Virginia and Charlottesville have also been useful as tools of cultural competency training.60

University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Competency Training, http://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/ucare/current-projects/partnership-with-madison-house/ (accessed May 4, 2013). 60 University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Network Meetings, http://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/ucare/current-projects/network-meetings/ (accessed May 4, 2013).

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Bailey 31 The solution of training has the potential to reach a much more widespread audience if it targets new students more broadly. Expanding the accessibility of training does not require the creation of new agencies, but merely should be prioritized within existing large organizations. For example, the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs maintains the programs for annual Summer and Fall Orientations. In 2012, Summer Orientation for incoming first year students included a Fun at the AFC/Evening Activities event from 9 P.M.-11 P.M. described as an opportunity to Join classmates for an evening of music and food, mingle with Orientation Leaders, take a hip-hop or zumba class, or enjoy a late-night hike. Certainly there is time for a nuanced introduction to University of Virginia and Charlottesville history for an hour beforehand. With the significant role that history plays in the University communitys identity, such a historical overview could arguably be as useful as the open-ended Student Life at UVA one-hour panel or the two-hour Resource Fair. If time cannot be spared at Summer Orientation, certainly a one-hour slot can be taken from Fall Orientation even if one ignores the traditions of the annual hypnotist show (Tom Deluca), a cappella concert (Rotunda Sing), Honor System Mock Trial, community service opportunity event (Servicefest), and local food tasting event (First-Year Food Fest). Exclusive of the previously mentioned events, the 2012 Fall Orientation included approximately 13 hours of social activities.61 Perhaps the simplest opportunity of all would be to add training to Grounds for Discussion, a mandatory event where a series of skits and small-group discussions are used to challenge new students to think about issues they might encounter at the University. Eating disorders, underage drinking, the Honor code, and roommate conflicts are examples of addressed topics. One regular type of roommate conflict centers on discomfort with racial diversity.

This figure is a total resulting from a four-hour social program on the first night of orientation, a three-hour concert the following night, another four-hour social event the third night, and a movie event several days after.

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Bailey 32 Grounds for Discussion could easily expand on the racial issue to include sensitivity not only to other students from different backgrounds but also to community members or others whose historical ties to the legacy of slavery have been systemically omitted in University discourse. This training program would certainly help educate the present about the past and make each generation of students more culturally competent. One last suggestion for extending training to students would be through programming with Resident Staff through the Office of Housing and Residence Life (HRL). All first years are already required to live in dormitories, and all of them therefore have Resident Advisors (RAs) responsible for organizing programs. One requirement of RAs as of the 2013-2014 academic year was programming in the category of Multiculturalism and Diversity. HRL and RAs readily acknowledge that the Multiculturalism and Diversity programming requirement is one of the most difficult to fulfill. A Multiculturalism and Diversity Committee for Resident Staff exists, but it lacks influence and suffers from weak membership. HRL already expends discretionary resources trying to develop aids for RAs struggling with this category of programs. Its latest effort was the creation of a Program in a Bag with a movie and a set of discussion questions on one aspect of Charlottesville history that includes dimensions of race. This initiative is important, but more information must be included and ideas beyond that of a movie must be explored. The Office of Housing and Residence Life could collaborate with UCARE or internally develop more programs for RAs that help educate the residential community about the past. RAs could use training as a program for their residents and thereby fulfill their programming requirements, HRL would more easily see the programming goals met, and residents would be more prepared to participate as responsible, culturally competent members of the community.

Bailey 33 3. Current State of Progress Improvements have certainly been made in the areas of the solutions proposed above. Maurie McInnis, current Art History professor and vice provost for academic affairs, was a University of Virginia undergraduate and a member of the University Guide Service who acknowledges the improvements UGS has made. She contrasted her 1980s experience with todays efforts to include slavery in tours at all: The standard line then was that Thomas Jefferson would not allow slaves to come with students; therefore, there were no slaves.62 Ian Sander, with the support of a donor through the IDEA grant program63, is leading a project in Spring 2013 to create and print 10,000 brochures on University of Virginia slavery history to be displayed in the Rotunda, where all tours begin and arguably the single most significant physical space at the University. In addition, some general educational opportunities already exist in addition to the aforementioned UCARE trainings: Professor McInnis and Dean Kirt von Daacke have lectured on University of Virginia history and slavery. The University of Virginia hosted a symposium in Spring 2013 on the subject of reparations where academics explored the unresolved problems lingering as a result of the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and other historical injustices in wide range of contexts including that of the university. Professor Phyllis Leffler and Professor Frank Dukes teach a history seminar on UVa: Race and Repair that explores the Universitys difficult legacy of slavery up until the present day and is open to not only UVa students but also Charlottesville community members. The Spring 2013 semesters class has worked to begin organizing two slave history reconciliation conferences: one open to state institutions to take

Brendan Wolfe, "Unearthing Slavery at the University of Virginia," The University of Virginia Magazine, U.Va. Alumni Association, March 2013, http://uvamagazine.org/features/article/unearthing_slavery_at_the_university_of_virginia (accessed May 4, 2013).

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Bailey 34 place in Fall 2013, and a national-scale conference to be held in Spring 2014. In the past, the seminar students have also contributed to projects such as a collaboration with the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center to collect local oral histories and a Race Places virtual tour that may form the basis of future programs that Resident Staff members can organize with their residents. Although there have been great strides in uncovering the history of slavery and its aftermath and many in the University support those efforts, much more must be done before the mainstream University community can be considered culturally competent.

Bailey 35 V. Conclusion There is an extensive body of research on many of the solutions briefly discussed above, such as apologies and reparations. A project of this length could not hope to adequately address every nuance of these proposals, which each has its own extensive literature. This paper does not attempt to argue for the overall desirability of their outcomes or their practical feasibility. Instead, it examines them in terms of their potential to fulfill moral obligation as supported by cross-cultural communication principles. The purpose is to lay a foundation from which variations of the aforementioned solutions and future solutions may be examined. A closer examination of how this papers proposed solutions might interact with each other is necessary to determine which, if any one in particular, should be pursued first. It is also possible that one of the dismissed solutions, while it may not succeed in achieving greater cultural competency itself, might serve as a productive step towards realizing one of the proposed solutions. A more in-depth examination of the solutions suggested in this paper must also be explored so that a more precise answer can be provided to the question: to what degree? For example, once the community accepts the necessity of slave legacy research, how much research should be supported and when should the available information be deemed sufficient? These questions are beyond the scope of this paper, and they merit further study. Although this work is not comparative in nature, it must be noted that universities around the United States are beginning to attempt to reconcile their complex pasts with slavery and its aftermath. Yale Universitys Amistad Committee releases a detailed essay about the schools complex relationship with slavery to remind us that the past has not passed.64 Brown Universitys president appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice as early as 2003;

Antony Dugdale, J. J. Fueser and J. Celso de Castro Alves, Yale, Slavery and Abolition, Yale University (New Haven: The Amistad Committee, Inc, 2001).
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Bailey 36 that committee not only examined the slave legacy history at Brown but also organized public programs that might help the campus and the nation reflect on the meaning of this history in the present.65 Inspired by Browns example, Harvard University began a historical commission on the subject of slavery in 2007 only to discover that the information the commission wished to consolidate was entirely unavailable. Students and faculty members followed by collaborating to publish Harvard and Slavery: Seeking a Forgotten History, which consolidates some of what primary and archival research is available and what is left to be done66. Emory University hosted a conference titled Slavery and the University: Histories and Legacies in 2011 where academics collaborated on initiatives to reconcile a more accurate understanding of the past with current goals for institutional and community diversity and equity.67 In 2009, the College of William & Mary began the Lemon Project, which supports academic scholarship to rectify wrongs perpetrated against African Americans by the College through action or inaction and is funded by the Office of the Provost.68 These are but a sample of the projects emerging in many historic institutions of higher learning in America that aim to help reconcile the systemic wrongs resulting from slavery and its aftermath. Most (if not all) of them implicitly touch on the themes of cultural competence, changing public discourse, and complicating the historical narrative presented by the institutions in the present day. A comparative analysis of these projects in light of the cross-cultural communication theory presented in this paper is necessary in order to determine which solutions

65 Brown University, Brown University Committee on Slavery and Justice Home, http://www.brown.edu/Research/Slavery_Justice/ (accessed May 4, 2013). 66 Sven Beckert and Katherine Stevens, About | Harvard & Slavery, September 2011, http://www.harvardandslavery.com/about/ (accessed May 4, 2013). 67 Emory University, Slavery and the University - Home, http://transform.emory.edu/conference/ (accessed May 4, 2013). 68 The College of William & Mary, William & Mary - The Lemon Project, http://www.wm.edu/sites/lemonproject/index.php (accessed May 4, 2013).

Bailey 37 are most desirable. For the time being, it is sufficient to say that their continuation is a high priority and that the University of Virginia could benefit from more initiatives like them.

Bailey 38 Appendix A Figure 1. http://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/ucare/files/2011/06/IMG_4983.jpg

Figure 2. Courtesy of James E. Bowen http://virginiaadvocate.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/tablet.jpg

Bailey 39

Appendix B Figure 1. Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, June 1996: An Examination of the Universitys Minority Classified Staff (The Muddy Floor Report)

Bailey 40

Appendix C A Comprehensive Guide to Giving History of African American Tours Now You Have NO EXCUSE Not to Give These Tours! Table of Contents Traditional Stops on Tour People (student) People (faculty, freed black workers, slaves) Traditional Stops on Tour South Steps of Rotunda o Brief history of UVA (date founded, what the incoming class was like-all white males mostly southern) o History of Albemarle & Slavery When wealthy white men came from the Tidewater Region to claim this land they originally sent slaves and tenants to this land to settle first this trend resulted in Albemarle being predominantly African American; furthermore, slaves outnumbered whites at the University from the time of its construction through emancipation o TJ & Slavery (he was the second largest slave owner in Albemarle County, yet also author of the Declaration of Independence) o Basic point: UVA was microcosm of society; while Jefferson did not wholly agree with the practice, he saw it as a necessary part of society at the times holding a wolf by the ears Slavery in context of times: Virginia was a society based on the free labor of slaves and plantations Pavilion I o Who built this University? Skilled white workers, freed blacks and slaves (approximately 32 slaves used to build Academical Village) University built from 1817-1828 o 1819 Board of Visitors makes statement that students are prohibited from owning slaves on Grounds Students got around this rule by keeping their slaves off grounds throughout Charlottesville; met them during the day to give them list of orders and chores Furthermore, Hotelkeepers owned slaves who served the University as well as the student body at times o Jefferson makes a statement in 1824 also supporting the idea that students cannot have slaves on Grounds o Students were assigned a hotel where they ate, sent laundry and other cleaning services; ALL of this labor was provided by slaves Pavilion III o African Americans at the University that were not students

Bailey 41 o Mention Nathan Jackson o Talk about the Harmon family living in Pav III; illustrates the progress of African Americans at the University but also that this has certainly not always been the role of blacks at UVA o Discuss: William Spinner, Henry Martin, Peter Briggs, Lewis Commodore Make sure to mention the differing experiences; especially between Martin and Commodore (even note the difference in sentiment of their nicknames) o By 1835 the student to slave ratio is 20:1 o In 1840 BOV allows for professors to house slaves in Pavilions o Also discuss the Civil War and its impact at UVA and also Martins role during the war UVA does not close during war (only one of two schools in Virginia to stay open, the other is Virginia Military Institute) Jeff Society goes bankrupt because it gives all of its funds to Confederacy 1861: the BOV allows for Chemistry Ovens in Rotunda to be used to produce ammunitions for the Confederacy In 1862 UVA converts many of its buildings into hospitals for wounded soldiers In 1865 General Custer and Union Army approach UVA, ransack some classrooms and Lawn rooms but do no major harm Middle of the Lawn o Overview: founding, blacks working at the University, Civil War o Now discuss student life and the sentiment of the UVA community and the Rotunda fire and its consequences Student Life progression 1870 the Va. General Assembly decides blacks and whites cannot go to school together; no admission to blacks given up to this point, blacks are encouraged to seek a college education from allblack coordinate colleges (i.e. Virginia State University, later founded in 1882) o This decision is made two decades before the Supreme Court legalizes separate but equal facilities in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson Blacks also attend Hampton University UVA students feel a greater sense of security believing that UVA would stay all white since these alternatives were available to African Americans seeking an education Rotunda Fire of 1895 Stanford White builds Rouss, Cabell and Cocke halls to provide additional classroom space since the annex was no longer present o However, it also did close off the Lawn and keep the Venable Lane or Canada community out of sight of the University o Discuss Kitty Foster!

Bailey 42 o Can discuss frieze on Cabell Hall; White used black prostitutes as models for developing the image on the frieze of Cabell Lawn Room 43 o This is where you should begin talking about African Americans attending the University as students o Talk about Alice Jackson (1935) o In 1936: Legislation passed in Va. That established a system where the state would pay the tuition of black students who would be qualified for UVA but are unable to attend because of their race o 1948 poll indicates that students are more receptive to the idea of integration than administration (interesting change from when University first opened) o Other important date to note: the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board; note that Ridley and Swanson admitted in 1950, Ridley graduates in 1953; Bland enters undergrad program in 1955 o Discuss: Ridley, Swanson, Bland, and Leroy Willis Lawn Room 53 o Discuss Wesley Harris Cocke/OCH o In 1969 UVA admits African Americans in large numbers o President Shannon quits the Farmington Country Club due to it segregation policies; prohibits faculty events from occurring in segregated facilities; appoints a black admissions officer o 1970s induce more change: dress codes dissipate; radical peace movements in response to Vietnam o Black Student Alliance founded in 1975 and is still in existence today o John Casteen III serves as Dean of Admissions from 1975-1982; increases African American enrollment by 8% Does this by visiting low-income homes, towns, and churches of African Americans on weekends to talk about and promote college/UVA o OAAA opens in 1976, helps to incorporate blacks into the UVA community o Institute for African American Studies opens in 1981 o Peer Advisor Program founded in 1989; entering black students receive guidance and support from black upperclassmen o National Pan-Hellenic Greek Council established o Sustained Dialogue: allows for various topics, including race relations, to be discusses amongst students from all backgrounds o Diversity Concerns Committee present on BOV o Highest graduation and retention rates for African Americans of all other public universities in America

People (student section) Alice Jackson

Bailey 43 o first black applicant to UVA (1935) o applied for admission to UVA graduate school for a Masters in French, was denied for good and sufficient reasons o University pays for her to attend Columbia University instead o Her case for admission was taken by Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP but later the NAACP felt that the case was not strong enough and lacked the evidence to be taken to court Gregory Swanson o First black to be admitted (but NOT the first to apply for admission) in Sept. 1950; enrolled in law school o Was originally rejected by BOV who believed his admission would be breaking Va. Law o Took the case to the US Circuit Court of Appeals which ordered his admission o Left in July of 1951 because he did not feel welcome and felt hostility from UVA students and the Charlottesville community Swanson withdrew the University "due to what he described as an overwhelming climate of racial hostility and harassment." (http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/projects/kenan/swanson/swanson.html) Walter Ridley o First African American to apply for admission (Jan. 1950) o first black to graduate from UVA o received doctorate in education; 1953 o undergrad at Howard o also the first black to earn a doctorate at a major southern university o graduated with high honors o If anyone gave any sign that I was not welcome, I was not conscious of it. Louise Stokes-Hunter o first black woman to graduate from UVA o doctorate in education (also 1953) Robert Bland o First black undergraduate at UVA, 1955 o Graduated in 1959 with an Electrical Engineering degree o Referred to his time as a struggle and mostly academic o Said that Charlottesville itself was more welcoming than the students or professors; felt ignored by the latter o Bobby stayed became popular phrase amongst black students who later attended the University in the 1960s and face racial hostility o Phrase became so popular that many white students began to use it without even knowing of its origin or actual meaning

A. Leroy Willis o Entered UVA in 1958 as a Chemical Engineering major o Sought to transfer in College of Arts & Sciences along with fellow black student James Trice; the Chair of the Chemical Engineering Dept. suggested they transfer schools entirely and enroll at Virginia State University (a college that had originally been founded for African American students)

Bailey 44 Chair said to Trice and Willis that VSU had a college for your people o Rallied support and transferred to the College, becoming the first African American in the College (transferred in 1961) o Graduated in 1962; also first black to the live on the Lawn (1962, Room #43) o In his Lawn room he founded the first Office of African American Affairs (OAAA) at the University o Led by inclusion Wesley Harris o Came to UVA in 1960 as an aeronautical engineer o First MAN, black or white, to complete the new Engineering Honor Program o On Deans List every semester and initiated into Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi o Organized MLK speech in 1963 to standing room only in Old Cabell Hall; but only ONE faculty member attended o Second African American to be selected to live on the Lawn o First black to be initiated into Jefferson Literary & Debating Society o Earned doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Princeton after studying at UVA o Currently professor at MIT and member of the National Academy of Engineers o Led by example People Outside of the Classroom Lewis Commodore o Purchased by the University as a slave for $580 in 1832 o UVA only public University to purchase a slave o Cruelly nicknamed Anatomical Lewis because he cleaned the cadavers out of the Anatomical Theatre after medical exams o Had a far from pleasant experience here the University William Spinner o Free black hired as maintenance man and janitor in 1825 Uncle Henry Martin o Born July 4, 1826 at Monticello (day Jefferson died) o Freed man o Rang the bell at UVA for 53 years (1856-1909) after Rotunda fire of 1895 he rang the Chapel bell o rang bell every day during that time with the exception of the day after the Civil War ended when the students flipped the bell over and filled it with water; it froze and caused a crack in the bell o nursed soldiers during the Civil War o he retired in 1909, but his pay continued for the rest of his life; died in 1915 at the age of 89 Uncle Peter Briggs o Born a slave in 1828 o Died in 1912 after serving several years as a janitor and gardener; well known around Grounds for his positive attitude and cheerful laugh

Bailey 45 o When students found out he was given a paupers burial they raised funds to bear all of the expenses of interment (placement in grave) Kitty Foster o Owned the Venable Lane Community, a freed black community located behind what is now Cabell Hall o She purchased the land in 1833 o Believed to have been born a slave sometime between 1790 and 1795; there was a slave owner in the area by the name of Henry Foster who had a slave named Katherine (her real name) o Kitty bought the Venable Lane land by John Winn, a local merchant o She cleaned clothes for students and faculty members along with the help of her daughters; her sons worked for nearby craftsmen o Died in 1863; land willed to her children yet Laundromats become more prevalent and her daughters become seamstresses to accommodate with the industrial change o By late 1800s this land is almost completely occupied by blacks and nicknamed Canada (this is referring to the idea that though the land is nearby, it is very different from the rest of Albemarle County; it is a somewhat derogatory nickname) o Land sold by family in 1906; family cemetery was to be relocated but this was never done o By 1920 the land is almost completely occupied by whites even though less than two decades had passed since the Fosters sold the land o UVA purchases land in 1976 o In 1993 twelve grave markings found- probably belonging to Kitty and her family Nathan Jackson o First black faculty member; teaches part time in the Curry School of Education The Harmons o Beverly Harmon: Assistant Dean of Students at the Law School until June 2005, lived with her family in Pavilion III o Her husband, William Harmon, was Senior Vice President for Development for the University o Known as being well-liked and extremely close to the community o First African American pavilion residents Miscellaneous o While by the 1850s Virginias largest export was slaves, Jefferson himself was not a slave trader o Originally students more against integration and pro-slavery; however with time, students began to side more strongly with the idea than professors (i.e. by the 1960s and 1970s) However, while seven of the nine original pavilion residents were European they owned slaves; while they originally were not fond of the idea often the lifestyle of Charlottesville bended their stance on the issue

Bailey 46 o Slaves on Grounds were extremely instrumental in the survival of various administrative and necessary practices: cleaning, maintenance, keeping time for class by ringing the bells, etc.