Richmond’s African-American history is national history
11/12/2016, 12:33 a.m.
Re: Op-ed column, “Save sacred ground for the future,” Oct. 20-22 edition:
Thank you for publishing “Save sacred ground for the future.” While researching my book, “The Secrets of Mary Bowser,” a fictional account imagining the life of a woman born into slavery in Richmond who, after being freed and educated, went on to spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, I learned a great deal about the African-American community in Richmond.
When Ana Edwards interviewed me on her radio show, she asked why this local history interested someone like me living across the country. I told her that while this history is especially relevant in Richmond, it is not only local history; it is national history, and every American should know it.
Mary Bowser was baptized and married in the same church — St. John’s Church in Richmond’s Church Hill — where Patrick Henry spoke his famous words. Yet how many people visit St. John’s without even learning who Ms. Bowser was or what she did?
We must do the most possible, not the least necessary, to ensure Americans understand our shared past.
LOIS LEVEEN
Portland, Ore.
