From: Tom Shulick
North Vernon
In our zeal to dismantle the statues of those who fought to continue slavery, the statues of some of those who actually owned those slaves are revered.
Two of those statues are of statesmen who owned large plantations in Virginia whose wealth was dependent on the labor of many slaves. These two founders signed a declaration in which one self evident truth was not evident to them.
Some rare individuals are indispensable to our form of government. We wouldn’t exist as a country if we had lost the Revolutionary War or if we did not have a Constitution. It is fitting that the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial bookend the National Mall.
I am not proposing taking down the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial. What I am suggesting is a small plaque be placed at the base of the monument and the entrance to the memorial stating how may slaves they owned.
It is a tragic history that must be acknowledged considering, as recent protests have shown that, we are still struggling with the aftermath of that heritage.
