SCV offers to take over Museum of the Confederacy

[Jamieva]

Offer made to manage museum
Sons of Confederate Veterans, angered by move idea, float plan

BY JANET CAGGIANO
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Feb 27, 2007

POLL Should the Museum of the Confederacy move from Richmond?
Yes
No
T he Sons of Confederate Veterans, outraged that the Museum of the Confederacy might move out of Richmond, is offering to take over the management of the museum. "Conditions at the museum have declined steadily for the past few years," said Frank Earnest, state commander of the 4,000-member Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "The current administration has brought the situation to near crisis."
During a news conference yesterday at the Confederate Memorial Chapel on Grove Avenue, Earnest said his group plans to meet with the museum's board of trustees within a month to offer to take over the board and to discuss the replacement of the museum's president and CEO, Waite Rawls.
Rawls and Carlton P. Moffat Jr., chairman of the museum's board of trustees, declined to comment yesterday.
However, Rawls released a statement that said no decision has been made to change the museum's name.
"Retaining future economic viability and at the same time remaining faithful to the educational mission, identity and historic legacy of the museum is a challenge faced in the relocation," the statement said. "Consideration of a possible renaming of the museum, which might accompany relocation, should be considered speculation at this time."
Rawls announced in October that museum officials were seeking a new home for its Civil War collection, the world's largest, to escape the sprawling medical campus of Virginia Common- wealth University. Officials traveled to Lexington in January to tour a possible site there and are considering other locations. Dropping the word "Confederacy" from the museum's name could accompany a relocation.
"The changes proposed by the current administration are a betrayal to both those who have donated to the collection and to the very spirit of museum," Earnest said. "We aren't saying the Museum of the Confederacy can't be moved, just certainly not out of Richmond."
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Rawls has said repeatedly that he hopes the museum can stay in Richmond. The White House will remain at 12th and East Clay streets, its home since 1818.
Should the museum move outside Richmond or change its name, Earnest said he would no longer support the institution.
"We will take whatever steps necessary to maintain both the name and the integrity of the Museum of the Confederacy and to see that it remains in the city of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy," Earnest said.

Contact staff writer Janet Caggiano at jcaggiano@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6157.

[Jamieva]

VIRGINIA DIVISION SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS

We, The Sons of Confederate Veterans, are extremely alarmed by the mismanagement of the Museum of the Confederacy by the current and most recent past administrations.

Conditions at the Museum have declined steadily for the past few years. The current administration has brought the situation to near crisis. Revenues are down due to decreased donations and decreases in the number of memberships and visitors. It is true that some of this is due to urban encroachment; however, most of the problems come from the misguided decisions of the current administration. Little has been done to increase revenues in the past 5 years. The City of Richmond must also share some of the blame. The City has not even provided signs directing visitors to the Museum. We the Sons of Confederate Veterans have done all we can to support the Museum. Recent statements have caused us great concern and make it difficult to continue our support. Among other things, this administration threatens to move the Museum from Richmond and to drop the words "Museum" and "Confederacy" from its name.

Recently the administration attempted to move the White House of the Confederacy from its original historic location. Only the objections of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, The Department of Historical Resources, and other concerned historians prevented this from happening.

The Museum of the Confederacy is unique in its solely Southern Perspective. It has been a Confederate Memorial since its conception in 1896. The people who have donated most of the artifacts that make up the collection could have donated them to other museums. They chose to donate them to the Museum of the Confederacy because of this unique Southern Perspective. The changes proposed by the current administration are a betrayal to both those who have donated to the collection and to the very spirit of the Museum. this may even inspire contributors to request the return of these artifacts. We are extremely concerned about these artifacts that are valued at over 2 Hundred Million Dollars. There have even been statements made about the possible sale of these artifacts.

Tourists from all over the country and the world come to Virginia to visit sites related to our Confederate Heritage. If the current administration of the Museum of the Confederacy and the City of Richmond will not take the steps necessary, for the love of Heritage that we have, they should at least do it for the money. It will be a shame if the City of Richmond allows this treasure to leave the Capitol of the Confederacy.

In conclusion, the Sons of Confederate Veterans would be willing to enter into negotiations to obtain the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy. We are an International Organization with multi millions in assets. We have the resources and a proven tract record. In Virginia alone we have nearly twice the membership as does the Museum of the Confederacy (4,000). Internationally, we number over 35,000 members. We will take whatever steps necessary to maintain both the name and the integrity of the Museum of the Confederacy and to see that it remains in the City of Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy.


B. Frank Earnest
Virginia Division Commander
Sons of Confederate Veterans

[OpnDownfall]

The museum and its name is not PC and now that the state gov't is officially PC Re: Va. House Apology, there can be no place for such an institution anywhere in Va. if the state has anything to say about it.
It may not go now, but soon and out of state, if the actions of those who now run museum are any indication.

[william42]

I think the SCV would do a great job managing the museum, if they are able to obtain control. The museum probably should be moved to a different location within Richmond, mainly for accessibility reasons. If they make it easier to get to, then more people will come. And the word "Confederacy" should absolutely stay in the name of the museum. Just my opinion.



Terry

[unionblue]

Question,

If the SCV gets control of the museum (MOC or another name, etc.), would it promote history or would it promote its modern-day agenda?

Unionblue

[larry_cockerham]

History. What you perceive as an agenda, ain't an agenda, just history.

[unionblue]

Larry,

I've read the SCV homepage. History will take a severe hit if the museum is taken over by the present SCV national leadership.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[larry_cockerham]

Neil, current leadership has their heads screwed on far more securely than their predecessors. At lease these folks give a tinker's dam about their history and their ancestors in the most positive of senses. Should they be operating one of the more valuable, from my perspective, or our national treasures, the Confederate artifacts? Probably not. Management is the essense of survival, not to mention capitalization. This should not be similar to the yankee who moved down to Maury County and tried to fix the pasture containing the soldier's graves with his bulldozer. Seems to me a shame that Civil War history couldn't have a combined emphasis. They managed to show up on the same battlefields. I know that's naive, but a thought.

[ole]

Desire and capital do not necessarily equal managerial capacity. I'll give SCV the benefit of the doubt, even though its recent foray into managing its own affairs would indicate otherwise. Maybe if the SCV would use its funds to hire a crackerjack curator?
Ole

[william42]

Neil, I agree that, of course, we would want history presented accurately at the Museum. Why couldn't the SCV accomplish that? Suppose the museum does have somewhat of a Southern "spin" on it. It is the Museum of the Confederacy, located in the capital of the old Confederacy. Why is it not okay for them to accentuate what they consider to be the positive for them? I think folks knowledgeable about the war, such as those on this board, would be able to detect any falsehoods, should there be any, and would rightfully bring attention to those. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool civil war enthusiast, a Yankee by birth. Far be it from me to advise the SCV how to run the Museum of the Confederacy. It's not my place. It's their heritage. Just a thought.


Terry