A History Lesson (Herald Press Letter to editor)

A History Lesson (Herald Press Letter to editor)

by chris lahr

April 24, 2007

One of the privileges I hold as a white person is the ability to practice selective amnesia when it comes to history. I can recall with clarity that this land was founded on freedom, but maybe it's because I wasn't enslaved or had treaties that sent me from my land. It's easy to forget our horrendous past of slavery, because I personally never had slaves, therefore it cannot possibly be my problem, or can it? An April 17 letter to the editor stated: "The fact the [Huntington] university wants the city to declare to the world we are an inclusive city suggests the university thinks this community needs apologizing for something in its history. I moved to Huntington over 30 years ago and in that time I have not heard or seen anything in the character of its citizens that requires some sort of act of contrition on their part." Several years ago I was taking a course at Asbury Theological Seminary called, "Black History and Theology." About a week into the course the African American professor talked about how racism was still alive and well in our society today. He then proceeded to tell the class about a city that had restored an old slave house that was used to capture runaway slaves and transport them back to the south, that city was Huntington, Indiana. I about fell out of my chair, what was he talking about? A couple weeks ago I visited the Huntington Museum and came across an old program from Sept. 28, 1985. The program was the dedication of the Lambdin P. Milligan Slave House. Lambdin P. Milligan is considered one of Huntington's "notable natives." He was a sympathizer to the South, used his house to hold slaves until he could return them back to their "owners." He also attempted an armed uprising, and was arrested in 1864 for treason by federal authorities. But as legend has it, Milligan claimed illegal imprisonment (the military didn't have the right to try him for any alleged crime while the civil courts were functioning) and was set free. He was welcomed back in Huntington with applause because justice was done: the wrongfully accused was set free. The 1985 program goes on to clarify that in 1850 citizens were required to "assist in the capture of runaway slaves, like citizens are today required to assist policemen." For more info on Milligan see: http://www.huntingtoncounty.org/history/famous.htm

I would argue that this is just one piece of our history that we need to re-evaluate, and even apologize for! Huntington was a hub of a pro-slavery movement, and in 1985 we dedicated a building in commemoration. Sure we may never held slaves ourselves and maybe we would have not agreed with Milligan, but we cannot neglect the fact that people of color are aware of our monument, and thus as a city we need to take some pro-active steps towards inclusion.

How can we give Huntington University a blessing to march towards diversity if as a city we hold diversity as a "sham idea." Huntington University is a part of the city, and the city is a part of the university. A couple of years ago some people of color were taking part of a Youth For Christ event at the university and had more than one racial slur made toward them at a local store. Maybe we are not as inclusive as we would like to believe.