The February 19th edition of Washington County’s weekly newspaper The Sandersville Georgian, which is not available online, included an article about a presentation made to two of the county’s commissioners. Lynda Brown, a board member of Ten Commandments Georgia, Inc., which was founded by the county’s Congressional District Representative Jody Hice, requested that the county consider spending $1,200 of taxpayer dollars for a display of documents related to the history and background of our country.
According to the newspaper, Ms. Brown said, “These documents tell the story of men striving for and his [sic] attainment of freedom…” Among the nine documents Ms. Brown says best represent freedom, she includes the first ten rights of the United States Bill of Rights.
What Ms. Brown’s organization does not consider essential for the display are these Amendments to the Bill of Rights: abolition of slavery (13th Amendment, adopted 1865), protection of civil rights (14th Amendment, 1868), the right to vote regardless of race or previous servitude (15th Amendment, 1870), voting rights for women (19th Amendment, 1920), abolition of poll taxes as a requirement for voting (Amendment 24, 1964) and the right for 18 year old citizens to vote in elections (26th Amendment, 1971).
Ms. Brown’s organization excludes the Emancipation Proclamation as a document reflective of our country’s history and commitment to freedom. While not perfect, this document stands as a marker in our government’s history recognizing that enslaved people should be free.
How can an organization professing to be committed to teaching civics and our country’s history fail to include documents written expressly to extend and protect civil and human rights to people of color and all women?
The Washington County Commissioners have agreed to allow the display in the county courthouse if it is funded by donations. Local citizens who chip in for the display should consider going further than the documents Ms. Brown’s group offers. If county leaders are concerned that residents don’t know Georgia or our country’s history, they have an opportunity, and obligation, to look more broadly than Ms. Brown’s proposal.
