Tag: James Wyatt Whitehead
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Forget Waldo! Where is ERIC?
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V In 2012, seven states, including Virginia, formed the Electronic Registration and Information, Inc. (ERIC), with assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, ERIC’s membership has risen to 32 states and the District of Columbia. ERIC’s mission is to assist states in maintaining accurate voting rolls. Every 60 days, states that…
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Return to Bull Run: Pumping the Brakes on Data Center Construction
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V Conflict rages yet again on the site of two major Civil War Battles, Manassas National Battlefield Park, in Prince William County, Virginia. This is nothing new to Northern Virginia residents who can recall the rally cry of “Save the Battlefield.” In 1988, developers fought and lost the battle to build…
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In Search of the Fountainhead of Religious Freedom in Virginia
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V A recent trip to study the Civil War battlefield of Fredericksburg brought me to stately Washington Avenue in one of Virginia’s most historic cities. The street is adorned with grand Victorian mansions and Kenmore, the colonial home of Fielding and Betty Lewis (George Washington’s sister). Here stands a statue to…
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State Anthem Controversies: Carry Me Back to Old Virginia
by James Wyatt Whitehead V In the early 1870s, a young pre-law student at Howard College was inspired by classmate and future wife, Mamie Friend. James Alan Bland would listen to the homesick sentiments of Mamie and her home in tidewater Virginia. During a trip to meet Ms. Friend’s family the two sat down together…
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State Anthem Controversies: Maryland, My Maryland
by James Wyatt Whitehead V Tensions had reached a boiling point in the city of Baltimore on April 19, 1861. 160 years ago, a mob of pro-Southern sympathizers attacked the 6th Massachusetts Infantry as the unit was making its way by rail to Washington, D.C. There had been trouble the day before when regiments of…
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If Only Robes Could Talk
“To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.” — John Marshall by James Wyatt Whitehead V John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wore the same judicial robe for 34 years. Preservation Virginia, which maintains the John Marshall House on Marshall…
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Virginians in Cooperstown
by James Wyatt Whitehead V On March 3rd, 1987 a long-distance telephone call came to the home of Ray Dandridge. It was a call well remembered by Mr. Dandridge in a speech given that summer in Cooperstown, New York. “I was resting and my wife was in the backyard. So, I answered the phone. The…
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How to Contextualize a Confederate Statue
by James Wyatt Whitehead V On March 18th, 2021, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors accepted the eight-member Monument Committee’s recommendations for the Berryville courthouse Confederate Monument. The six-point platform, approved by the committee in a seven-to-one vote, called for: Dedicating the Courthouse Green to memorials and education. Efforts should be made to recognize the…