By KELLY HANNON
If people on the streets of Fredericksburg are an accurate barometer, most adults and teens are willing to donate $8 to support the U.S. National Slavery Museum.
"I'd consider it. I'm not sure about where I'd send it," said Scott Quann, a student at Fredericksburg Christian School. For him and his friends, $8 translates into a CD or food, he said.
"Who do I give it to?" Quann asked.
Only a handful of people were familiar with the museum's newest initiative until it was explained: Comedian Bill Cosby and Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder on Friday announced a $100 million fundraising campaign to open the National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg.
To get things rolling, Cosby asked each American to donate $8. Cosby has already pledged $1 million to the museum, scheduled to open on land in Celebrate Virginia in 2008.
They picked $8 because they thought every American could afford to give this amount, and the figure 8 is the shape of shackles used to secure slaves.
Cosby said he realized this type of campaign "generally fails badly, but I'm going to try again because I'm going to present this national slavery museum as a jewel that's missing in a crown."
If all Americans--288.4 million men, women and children--each gave $8, the campaign would raise $2.3 billion.
Paula Royster, a Spotsylvania County resident and president of the Center for African-American Genealogical Research Inc., thinks the $8 appeal will be a success. She was attending a Black Arts Festival at the original Walker-Grant School in Fredericksburg.
"That's lunch for one day. It's probably 3 gallons of gas. You can spend $8 a day, $40 a week on things we can't account for. It's a very small sacrifice to make. I'm sure people will respond," Royster said.
Another festival-goer, Annyoz Hamm, is eager to contribute $8.
"I think we need more than the block on the corner," Hamm said, referring to a marker at the corner of Charles and William streets in downtown Fredericksburg where slaves were once auctioned.
"There's a lot of history here young people need to be told. They've never heard of 'Roots.' They only know Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X," said Hamm, a youth counselor and Fredericksburg resident.
But Elaine Tompkins of Spotsylvania, who was walking along Caroline Street, said she would not contribute $8 to the museum--she thinks such a facility belongs in Charleston, S.C., not Fredericksburg. And she would prefer that a national museum focus on the achievements of black Americans.
"I think there's too much emphasis put on the slavery part," Tompkins said.
The Rev. Hashmel Turner, a Fredericksburg city councilman, offered the city's greeting at the Black Arts Festival.
He said the appeal has gotten people's attention. Even if it falls short of netting $8 per American, the new wave of donations will go a long way toward building the museum, he said.
"There are many Americans that are going to step up to the plate," Turner said.
For information about the U.S. National Slavery Museum, and to donate, go online to usnational slaverymuseum.org or call the museum's offices at 540/548-8818. Donations can also be mailed to the United States National Slavery Museum, 1320 Central Park Blvd., Suite 251, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
To reach KELLY HANNON:
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com