THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 11, 1997 TAG: 9701110339
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 41 lines
They made unlikely partners, but former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder teamed up with Republican Gov. George F. Allen on Friday to make a nationally televised pitch for a Virginia Slavery Museum.
In a joint appearance on Fox Television, Allen joined the nation's first elected black governor to promote plans for a museum that officials hope will be built near Jamestown and depict the history of slavery and its impact on American culture.
Wilder, a grandson of slaves, said the museum is needed to educate the public about an issue that has been ignored for too long.
``It's not a matter of forgetting the past,'' he said. ``So much of it was never learned. Many whites don't want to talk about it. Many Africans don't talk about it. This would be the good, the bad and the ugly. And then we can learn from it and determine what it is that has made our nation what it is today.''
Wilder, who conceived the project, had placed $100,000 in the state budget as planning money before leaving office in 1994. When spending authority expired before the funds could be used, Allen agreed to restore the money.
``I think it's a great idea,'' Allen said. ``It's very much a part of our history. That's why I'm trying to revive it.''
Both governors said they thought Jamestown would be the ideal location, although Wilder said Hampton University could be an alternative site if land near Jamestown couldn't be secured.
He said negotiations are continuing with the Gospel Spreading Farm Church in James City County for a 100-acre site, but remain unresolved.
Allen said he hoped the museum would have the same emotional impact as the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, which offers artifacts and photos of the Nazi persecution of the Jews during World War II.
Wilder said he has been encouraged by the project, adding, ``The response I've gotten from people all over the country has been amazing.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA SLAVERY MUSEUM