THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200238
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Is it the job of the NAACP president to perceive potential offense in anything even remotely tied to ``his'' community?
If it is, Paul C. Gillis is doing a bang-up job. If it isn't, somebody might want to inform him that the Civil War is over. Indeed, City Councilman Curtis R. Milteer, like Gillis an African-American, did as much at Wednesday night's council meeting.
The topic was a grant application for Suffolk to participate in a statewide project called the Civil War Trail. It's simple enough: localities identify Civil War-era attractions, which are then highlighted on state maps.
Directional signs are provided, and travelers may visit such attractions as Riddick's Folly - Suffolk's initial, proposed addition to the trail - or tune to a radio channel for a narrative.
The Civil War route is among several trails being marked along Virginia and other roadways, the idea being that localities with common bonds of, say, historical heritage or wildlife - as well as thoroughfares - share the booty from the state's tourist industry.
A traveler might be disinclined to journey from Richmond to Suffolk to visit Riddick's Folly alone but be lured by the notion of observing several other Civil War sites or wildlife habitats along the way.
Mr. Gillis, admitting that he knew little about the proposal before council, nonetheless wanted assurance that there would no ``affront'' to the African-American community in terms of ``portrayal,'' presumably of the Civil War.
Now portrayal could be a sticky wicket, if that were what the application were all about. But it has nothing to do with it.
Thanks in no small part to community support, Riddick's Folly is already there, in a very visible location on Main St. And its exhibitions and programs certainly do not glorify the Civil War as a tribute to white rightness.
If Mr. Gillis - or Councilman Charles F. Browne, who said there should have been time to ``educate'' about the Civil War Trail before the matter got to council - want to know what goes on in the former Yankee headquarters of Gen. John J. Peck, all they and anyone else have to do is visit.
That would be far more reasonable than a knee-jerk assumption that anything involving this admittedly unpleasant segment of American history must be offensive.
Mr. Milteer rightly sees ``no problem in restoring history as it actually occurred.'' Open-minded people reap lessons from it - mimicking the good and working to see that the bad is neither glorified nor repeated.
There are enough real problems - including some outright racial and some race-linked - in Suffolk and elsewhere without needless agitation. Save it for worthwhile things, lest agitation for the sake of itself diminish support for real battles.
It would be interesting to know just what ``community'' Mr. Gillis represents. On whose behalf does he fret about an affront?
The Civil War can be - and should be - as useful in telling the African-American version of the Civil War's events as anyone's. It's a story worthy of the telling and learning.
Riddick's Folly also is worthy of learning about. Built after fire leveled much of Suffolk in 1837, the brick house was meant to withstand any fire.
During the Civil War, it was Yankee headquarters, and the carved initials of a Union solder may be seen in the rafters.
Now, the Greek Revival home hosts permanent exhibits on peanut farming and on former Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr., a Suffolk native, and it has changing exhibitions. It also offers diverse classes and hosts numerous functions.
Best of all, it's open to Mr. Gillis, Mr. Browne and anyone seeking entry. Which proves that some people, perhaps excluding Mr. Gillis, have advanced beyond the Civil War. by CNB