Longwood College nestled in the deep red hills of southwestern Virginia holds a special place in our nation's history. It is fitting that Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate will be held there.
Seventeen years ago I spent a week at the college as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. I taught civics, electoral politics and sought to stimulate interest in supporting women in politics.
I'd never been to southern Virginia and came with my poorly conceived notions that I would not be truly welcomed. I harbored all the prejudices of a Yankee and feminist who after years of fighting for the ERA and reproductive justice and living during the Civil Rights era had little respect for what I perceived to be "southern attitudes."
I was wrong.
Located in the rural community of Farmville, Longwood College turned out to be a place of intelligent professors teaching a student body that was 65% women reflecting its founding in 1839 as a public institution preparing women teachers.
The majority of those I taught and spoke to backed the ERA and a woman's right to choose. All were proud of the college's support for gains made during the Civil Rights era.
This was the New South… where thoughtful discussions about the bigoted past merged with a belief that the nation's future success lay in bringing opportunity to all.
It was 1999, and I shared their optimism.
Momentous events have taken place in Farmville. Some of the Civil War's last battles were fought in and around the town. Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House is a few miles away.
In l951 African-Americans walked out of Prince Edward County's segregated schools demanding a better education. Their case was one of the lawsuits folded into the 1954 Brown v. Education desegregation decision.
On Tuesday Farmville and Longwood will be the site for a debate that should indicate which presidential candidate has the better judgment.
Hillary Clinton's selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine to be her running mate proves she has thoughtfully considered what kind of person should lead the nation. Kaine has been successful as a judge, mayor of a big city and Governor of Virginia. He is a conciliator who was highly praised for his ability to soothe the public after the aftermath of the Virginia Tech student massacre.
Kaine's work as missionary to the poor in Central America demonstrates his concern for those less fortunate than himself. He supports reproductive justice and a continuation of solving the nation's racial divide.
Trump's vice-presidential choice has an opposite kind of character. Mike Pence mirrors Trump's dangerous ability to stir up problems and bring discord. Pence has been a troublemaker his entire public life with his ferocious opposition to Planned Parenthood, comparing Obamacare to the 9/11 attacks, wanting to repeal the Americans for Disabilities Act, eliminating the McCain Feingold campaign finance law and supporting a so-called religious freedom law allowing businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian customers.
In April 1999 I stood in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean house where Grant accepted Lee's surrender. Grant wrote the terms of surrender on a tiny table and Lee accepted his request that the Confederacy pledge not to take up arms against the United States.
Then in a magnanimous gesture Grant said: "Let all the men who claim to own a horse or mule take the animals home with them to work their little farms. This will do much toward conciliating our people."
The Union troops cheered; Grant ordered them to cease, saying, "The war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again."
The Appomattox Court House National Park is one American history's holiest sites. It is as sacred as the Lincoln Memorial. Unlike Gettysburg with its miles of battle sites and large museum celebrating a significant Union victory, Appomattox is a small place, but Grant's message of forgiveness and reconciliation is greater.
As I stood there that day, I wept.
I'm grateful that Hillary Clinton had the wisdom to choose Tim Kaine. He will make us proud in the tradition of those early Virginian Founding Fathers. The sick, disturbed Republican nominee and his henchman Pence have neither the judgment nor desire to bring us together in the spirit of Appomattox.
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October 3, 2016
Addendum. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 (VP DEBATE)
The next event on the debate schedule will be Tuesday, October 4 in Farmville, Virginia from the campus of Longwood University. It will feature the two Vice Presidential candidates going head-to-head. HIllary Clinton's Veep choice Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia will be the hometown favorite taking on Mike Pence of Indiana, the governor on Trump's ticket.The event will be moderated by CBS News's Elaine Quijano, a weekday anchor for CBSN and a stalwart of the network's political coverage.
The debate will be from 9-10:30 PM EDT and will be airing on all major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, MSNBC, Univision, and C-SPAN) simultaneously.
Second Addendum.
