On Jan. 18, The Washington Post published an article referencing Longwood University and its relationship with the Farmville community, as well as its future affiliation currently in the works with the local Moton Museum.
For some people in the community, the article seemed like good publicity for Farmville, Longwood and Moton, but the museum’s Associate Director for Museum Operations, Justin Reid, said there were things in the article that he, and others in the Farmville community, had issues with.
Reid specifically mentioned a photo caption from one of the pictures embedded in the story, which insinuated the museum’s affiliation with Longwood was a done deal. The partnership, which has not yet been finalized, would involve Longwood providing financial funding to Moton, among other things.
“Every step of the way we have done our best to make sure the community is informed, and that their feedback and opinions are heard,” said Reid. “It was really disheartening for The Washington Post to make it appear as if this deal was finalized.”
According to Reid, the Longwood University President’s office contacted The Washington Post, and requested the error be changed. “I know the President’s office was not happy with that message,” Reid said referring to the caption.
The caption was edited online, and it did not appear in the print version, but according to Reid that isn’t the only problem with the article.
“I think this article made it appear as if Farmville and Prince Edward County is this helpless, southern town, and only Longwood can save us from ourselves. I think that’s the issue that I, and several others had with that story,” he said. “We don’t want to give the world the impression that Longwood is this savior that’s rescuing Farmville, and Prince Edward County, because that’s not the case. We chose to affiliate with Longwood.”
Reid later clarified, “Our issue is not with Longwood University or the President’s office, our issue is with how The Washington Post chose to write that story. I think the post wrote a story to sell newspapers.”
“For those of us who are knowledgeable about local history and are involved with Longwood and the Moton Museum, the Washington Post article is a mere introduction to a story that is complex and full of nuance, one that is often difficult to grasp completely upon initial hearing,” said Dr. Larissa Smith Ferguson, professorofHistory,anduniversity liaison with the Moton Museum, who is also the acting associate vice-president of academic affairs. “But there are lots of Post readers who learned about Longwood and the Moton Museum for the first time, and that’s good for all of us and for Farmville.
According to Reid, many “friends” of Moton around the country were contacting him and others asking about the story.
“They wanted to find out if they were missing something,” he said. “We assured them that the deal was not finalized yet, and that the people whose story we are telling would be the first to know when things are complete.”
Reid made a point to say the community has had past issues with the Washington Post, directly referring to an article written in 2011. “They wrote a story about Fuqua School that Moton took issue with. We felt as though it did not accurately portray the President of Fuqua, who has been a great supporter of Moton,” he said. “They latched onto one misquote, and built a story around that one misquote.”
Reid said that people interviewed by The Post who were involved at Moton went into this story “already guarded” and they were “disappointed again” at how the post portrayed the local reality.
The Rotunda reached out to The Washington Post via email to get their side of the issue, but they responded saying, “The story speaks for itself.”
When the affiliation is finalized, Reid said the museum would be “selective” about which organizations it releases information to. “When things are done, we want the world to know, but I think we will be very careful about which journalists we choose to share the story with,” said Reid. “When the affiliation is finalized, we will be sure to let our local journalists, and our student journalists know first.”
