Sending Stonewall Jackson Packing
News from the Frontlines and the Written Lines in West Virginia | july8.2020
1—When the Confederate Flag Cuts & Runs
Let’s start with a short, satisfying video. It’s snatched—you’ll see why—right from the headlines. The scene is outside the Kanawha County Board of Education in Charleston WV on Monday. Hundreds are gathered to urge the board to demote Gen. Stonewall Jackson and to strip his name from a middle school on the city’s West Side. A fellow shows up waving a Confederate flag. He was not reading the room.
This insta-rap video is by Tiffany Thouartdope Finkton. View more of her work on Instagram. The poor fellow never got his flag back. Maybe he can add the loss to his “Lost Cause” grievances, memorably described as: “An American pseudo-historical negationist ideology, which advocates the belief that the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was a just and heroic one.”
Below is more of our coverage of the name change, which was a collaborative effort years in the making and which was accomplished peacefully, if forcefully. Watch for our mini-doc, “Bye-Bye, Stonewall!” on the website by Monday, which will also consider alternative names:
VIEW FROM THE PLAYGROUND: As adults argued the future of Stonewall Jackson Middle School's name, we visited a playground to ask what students thought of the whole thing.
POINTS of VIEW: Marshall U. prof Gregg Suzanne Ferguson was key to the renaming push. In a video “letter,” she speaks to neutral colleagues, silent about an issue that goes well beyond a single school: "We’re tired of plugging our ears at sporting events, as they announce our students’ victories with: ‘Stonewall Jackson wins again!’”
‘ALEXANDRIA SPEAKS’: Watch a 13-year-old student’s impassioned plea to an undecided school board member, as to why it’s so hurtful to keep Stonewall Jackson’s name on schools in the year 2020.
2—The Write Stuff
In addition to covering News of the Day in a fresh way, another WestVirginiaVille mission is to showcase original writing of power and grace. In the debut of “Three Minutes & A Prompt,” an Ona, WV resident and our Minister of Paragraphs Connie Kinsey was given a short prompt by producer/videographer Bobby Lee Messer:
...”and she spilled it before he could tell her no …”
Less than 24 hours later, Connie provided him with the flash fiction, “Terracotta Tile.” They spent several hours in our Huntington studio to create this video reading:
READINGS| “Terracotta Tile,” a prompted tale by Connie Kinsey
MORE PROSE, POETRY & NON-FICTON:
POETICS| An Almost Heaven & James Brown Upbringing by Doris A. Fields: When I bought my close & play record player in for Show and Tell/The problem was the record …/“Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud”/By my favorite singer at the time/James Brown, the Godfather of Soul/I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it,/But the teacher made me turn it off …’
READINGS | Ruminations of a Coal Miner’s Ex-wife by Kandi Workman: “When I was growing up, I swore to the moon and stars I’d never be a coal miner’s wife, no way, no how. Strikes. Layoffs. All that dust and dirty buckets and heavy boots. The scares. Dad was covered in 22 Holden in 1997, when I was 18. A version of him survived….”
3—One Arm, All Soul
Gary Mays was “The One-Armed Bandit of No. 1 Holler, West Virginia”, but he could beat you at basketball, too.
The following story—“The One-Armed Bandit of No. 1 Holler, West Virginia”—is a few years old and its subject has passed on. But more people deserve the pleasure of reading up on the notable life of Garrett “Gary” Mays. Born poor in rural West Virginia, he had his arm shot off in a shotgun accident at age 5: “The only thing I remember is waking up the next day. And I had one arm. And I said, ‘Well, I can deal with this, I guess.’” He went on to become a multi-sport phenomenon, one who but for racism, may have a had a pro baseball career. The Harlem Globetrotters wanted him to try-out. But Gary didn’t wish to be their “one-armed freak show.” His tale is the start of our series on West Virginia “Characters.” Take that one of two ways: people who are genuine characters. And people who display character in the face of troubles.
4—’There’s a NatureGram for You’
West Virginia may lack a functioning progressive Legislature; a full-time governor; a positive reputation outside its borders; and a major league sports franchise. But it does not lack for Nature. It’s every-where out there. Here’s the first edition of our Pandemic Mental Health Video Series: ‘NatureGrams.’ All the imagery in the 1-minute video is of certified organic West Virginia origin, as determined by the WestVirginiaVille Organic Imagery Co-op:
“NatureGrams: A WestVirginiaVille.com video
5—Molotov Limericks
West Virginia writer and artist Colleen Anderson's Molotov limericks are aimed straight at the softest spots of Donald Trump's long-haul campaign to sow division, distrust, and discord in the world. Here are three new animations of her “op-ed” limericks, yanked right from the headlines.
Here are the limericks:
Infections increase in our nation,
But Trumpsters demand liberation,
Refusing to see,
While they’re blithe and free,
The virus is not on vacation.
In case the distinctions get blurred,
One difference should not be obscured:
Joe Biden’s not young,
But Trump is among
Those old guys who never matured.
Now Trump is ranting and railing
He’ll sue ‘cause his numbers are trailing.
So he’ll have some big rallies
That raise virus tallies.
He’s an absolute artist at failing.
Here they are animated in our videoshop:
OP-ED LIMERICKS | An Absolute Artist at Failing
PS: Seeking a WestVirginiaVille Instagram Intern
Thanks for reading, watching, sharing. Pass the newsletter forward! If it was forwarded to you, subscribe for free at: westvirginiaville.substack.com. NOTE: We’re looking for a quick-witted, eager-to-learn young person (we define that as under 30) to help create and manage an Instagram feed for WestVirginiaVille. No pay, but lots of minor glory. Plus, you get to help us co-create and be part of the ongoing development of new media ecosystems in West Virginia and beyond. E-mail why you’d be good for the job to: heythere@westvirginiaville.com.
Be well, stay safe. Wear a mask in public like a superheroine or superhero. | Douglas John Imbrogno, editor, WestVirginiaVille.com