Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I have been researching the history and reading the records of the Quaker Meeting House in Little Surry called the Blackwater Monthly Meeting House. 

They were against slavery and after the American Revolution when it was legal to do so, many manumitted the enslaved in our county. For doing this, the Quakers in Surry County were shunned, persecuted and suffered open hostility by their fellow neighbors, county citizens and church congregations with differing beliefs. 

A bill for the gradual abolition of slavery in Virginia was presented and argued in the Virginia Assembly in January 1832. This effort was led by the leadership of the Quakers. The proposal was voted down 65-58 and was a watershed moment in our state’s history. It was the last time the General Assembly seriously considered an end to slavery. 

By the mid-1830s, most practicing Quakers in the county moved elsewhere and vanished from Surry. If only the citizens had listened to the Quakers instead of being hostile to them, history would have been altered.

While I agree that it’s not as monumental as the conflict that existed among citizens in 1831, our county today is still mired in social conflict among its citizens. I recently read an article in The Smithfield Times concerning the electoral board in Surry County. A citizen spoke and stated that she and others “do not trust the board members.” 

Community and cultural trust among citizens is holding back our county. The county administrator makes claims of racism, a board member asks for community trust-building meetings, other citizens monthly ask our county government to do something … anything. The response from some has been hostile Facebook postings and divisive behaviors among citizens, county administration and the board. The response from our churches and sensible citizens has been silence. 

While maybe not as monumental as the conflict 190 years ago, addressing the cultural divisions and trust issues among our citizens is important and will shape our area in the years to come. We have an opportunity for betterment. The Quakers were good people with good ideas. This time I hope our county citizens will speak up, not ignore and push out the sensible, good folks who presently call Surry County home.

 

Michael Drewry

Wakefield