Jefferson’s birthday replaced with Slave Emancipation day

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ASPartOfMe
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03 Jul 2019, 8:49 am

Charlottesville swaps holiday celebrating Thomas Jefferson's birthday for day observing emancipation of slaves

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The Charlottesville, Va. City Council voted on Monday to swap out an official holiday celebrating Thomas Jefferson’s birthday for a day recognizing the emancipation of slaves.

April 13 will no longer honor Jefferson, the third president and author of the Declaration of Independence who owned slaves in Virginia, following a 4-1 vote, The Associated Press reported.

The council unanimously decided in a separate vote that Liberation and Freedom Day will be celebrated on March 3, the day U.S. Army forces arrived in 1865 and emancipated enslaved people at the end of the Civil War, according to the AP.

Jefferson’s legacy is prominent in Charlottesville, where he founded the University of Virginia, CBS 19 News reported.

The Charlottesville, Va. City Council voted on Monday to swap out an official holiday celebrating Thomas Jefferson’s birthday for a day recognizing the emancipation of slaves.

April 13 will no longer honor Jefferson, the third president and author of the Declaration of Independence who owned slaves in Virginia, following a 4-1 vote, The Associated Press reported.

The council unanimously decided in a separate vote that Liberation and Freedom Day will be celebrated on March 3, the day U.S. Army forces arrived in 1865 and emancipated enslaved people at the end of the Civil War, according to the AP.

Jefferson’s legacy is prominent in Charlottesville, where he founded the University of Virginia, CBS 19 News reported.

The white nationalists used a statue of Jefferson on campus as a meeting point, chanting “Blood and soil" and “Jews will not replace us," according to The Washington Post.

Slave Emancipation Day is a great idea but a better day for it would be the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. For a southern city to create that holiday on that day would be quite the statement against lost cause mythology. As for Jefferson we have to find a way to deal with flawed essential historical figures besides canceling them. In fairness it is not that Jefferson has been canceled. He is still covered by Presidents Day and Independence Day and most school kids are taught about him. As for his slaves while that was covered up fortunately is not the case now. In fact his museum at Monticello, VA deals extensively with the subject

As noted in the article there are factors unique to Charlottesville. Their elected officials have made a decision. If their constituents don’t like it they can vote them out.

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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 03 Jul 2019, 9:27 am, edited 3 times in total.

Fnord
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03 Jul 2019, 8:58 am

Makes sense to me, although I have to admit that I didn't even know there was a "Jefferson's Birthday" holiday in the first place. Thomas Jefferson, like 2/3rds of the Founding Fathers, was a racist, sexist slave-owner. Now, if we could just get Columbus Day declared a day of mourning for the indigenous peoples that were wiped out soon after he 'discovered' America...

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TheRevengeofTW1ZTY
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03 Jul 2019, 9:13 am

Fnord wrote:

I didn't even know it was a holiday either. :lol:

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naturalplastic
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04 Jul 2019, 9:05 am

Jefferson's bday must be a local state holiday in South Carolina (even though Jefferson was born in Va).

I have heard that some southern states have state holidays for the date that the slaves of that particular state were freed (which varies from former slave state to former slave state). And you can only fit so many holidays into a calender (unless you want workers to NEVER work at all because EVERY day is holiday. We cant have THAT can we?).

So it kinda makes sense to swap out one holiday for another. Jefferson already sorta gets Presidents' Day, and he already sorta gets Indepdence Day too(since he wrote the Declaration of). So its not really a slight to Jefferson to swap his day out for something else of local importance.

ASPartOfMe
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04 Jul 2019, 10:07 am

naturalplastic wrote:

Yes it is a local holiday and yes it is a “slight” on Jefferson by Charlottesville. Replacing his birthday with Slave Emancipation Day is both trolling him and a political statement. It is saying the fact that he was a slave owner, racist, and a rapist(Even if Sally Hemmings “wanted it” since she was a slave their “affair” is legally rape) is more important then that he was a Founding father

As mentioned he has not been cancelled. Charlottesville does not have authority over other commemorations of him.
The Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. is run by the Federal Government
Independence Day and Presidents Day are Federal Holidays
The Museum at his old manor is run by a private foundation and is a designated national historical site.
The Jefferson statue in Charlottesville in part of the University of Virginia a state institution.

There already is a Slave Emancipation day called Juneteenth that is recognized by 46 of 50 states including Virginia.

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04 Jul 2019, 12:11 pm

Smacking my forehead just now. Lol!

Charlottesville is in Virgina, and is TJ's birthplace (also where Alex Planck is from). I knew that. Have been to Montecello.

There IS a Charlottesville in South Carolina. Don't know why I thought of that obscure one, and not the better known right one.

I guess I was merging recent tragedies together:the shooting in Charlestown SC, and the girl getting run over in Charlottesville.

There is getting to be too much polticially charged stuff in the news lately to keep track of I guess.

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