ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY THE ROANOKE TIMES
The gubernatorial candidate said it was a mistake for Allen to sign a decree that offended some.
Democrat Don Beyer said Gov. George Allen was wrong to proclaim a Confederate History and Heritage Month - and that he won't issue a similar proclamation if he's elected governor this fall.
"As a governor, I would want to ask: Who's going to be hurt by this? Who will lose sleep or who will have trouble explaining it to their children?" Beyer said during a campaign stop in Roanoke on Wednesday.
Instead, Beyer said he'd find other ways to recognize Virginia's Confederate history, suggesting he might be willing to issue a Civil War-related proclamation if it addressed slavery.
"I'd like to get the major players around a conference table and ask them how we can draw a resolution that recognizes the contributions and the sacrifices and the struggles of that period of time in Virginia history and does it in a way that honors everyone - and avoids major conflicts or upset."
Two weeks ago, two civil rights groups objected to Allen's proclamation, called the action "fascist" and demanded the governor's resignation.
Allen said he meant no offense, but has defended his action. Since then, the issue has resonated in much the same way that the display of Confederate symbols - from the Confederate flag waving over the South Carolina state capitol to the "Sons of Confederate Veterans" license plates in Maryland - has generated controversy in other states.
Even at a community meeting Allen held this week in Eagle Rock, he heard about his Confederate proclamation. "I'm grateful for what you've done to preserve our heritage," one man told Allen, who responded: "We ought to be tolerant of different views. It is part of our history, and I don't think we ought to ignore our history." The almost all-white crowd of more than 100 broke into applause.
Meanwhile, both candidates who hope to succeed Allen in this fall's gubernatorial election had skirted the question of whether they would sign a similar proclamation.
Republican Jim Gilmore has stuck with a written statement suggesting only that Allen erred by not being historically complete: "I believe any mention of Virginia's past has to acknowledge the problems of slavery."
During a campaign visit in Roanoke Wednesday, Beyer - responding to questions from reporters - went further. "I know that in my administration, we wouldn't have written a Confederate Heritage Month resolution," he said. "I do not understand why Governor Allen did that."
He said that the proclamation Allen signed - which referred to "the cause of liberty" - "all too conveniently ignores all the people that were hurt by a couple of hundred years of subjugation and slavery."
Beyer said "symbolism is very important, especially in politics" and that Allen made a mistake in signing a proclamation that offended some Virginians. It's the governor's responsibility, he said, "to bring us together."
Beyer, whose political hallmark has been a desire for consensus, made several references to his desire to avoid causing any kind of personal anguish for Virginians: "Let's take a white family or black family today, sitting with their kids at dinner, trying to explain why the governor is celebrating people who fought to preserve slavery. It fails the test of common sense. Especially because there have to be better ways to recognize all the families who lost so much."
"Take the same resolution and rewrite it. And rewrite in a way that [recognizes] how much everyone struggled and suffered."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS GOVERNORby CNB