Remembering Jamestown

From today's Virginian-Pilot:

As Jamestown prepares for its 400th anniversary, to be commemorated by a year's worth of events beginng in January, African American leaders are readying a different perspective: a "State of the Black Union 2007" symposium to be held at nearby Hampton University, an historically black university. The February forum will be hosted by radio commentator Tavis Smiley, who will be joined by the often-controversial figures of Jesse Jackson and Cornel West.

"Jamestown changed the world in many ways, but perhaps it shaped our nation most profoundly the day Africans arrived," Smiley said in a statement. "I can't think of a more relevant place to talk about the issues facing our community today than the place where African culture became American culture."

The symposium represents, to some extent, a attempt from the Jamestown 2007 organizers to ensure that the project of remembering the Commonwealth's history is not whitewashed into generic colonial history. A frank conversation about race in Virginia could be an excellent development from the anniversary celebration.