Travis Burr, '14

Travis Burr, '14

August 23, 2013
Internship with Civil War commemoration organization shows intersection of history and leadership studies

As the former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond has assumed a critical role in commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Set against the backdrop of Tredegar Iron Works, Lumpkin’s Jail, and the Maggie Walker House, the annual citywide Civil War and Emancipation Day event encourages thoughtful reflection on the nation’s history and conversations to evaluate the progress we've made and the work that still remains.

While this history lesson is hard to miss for anyone in Richmond, Travis Burr, ’14, is more aware than most. This past spring and summer, he worked as an intern with the Future of Richmond’s Past, a collaborative effort among Richmond's historical societies, museums, commissions, cultural and tourism organizations, and educational institutions to frame the anniversaries of the Civil War and Emancipation.

Burr began working with the organization just a few weeks before the 2013 event, assisting with social media publicity, mediating discussions between event sponsors, and providing day-of support. Over the summer — with the help of the Robert  L. Burrus Jr. Fellowship for Internships, a UR Summer Fellowship — Burr continued with the group as they started to look ahead to the culminating events in 2014 and 2015.

The internship came about as the result of a Jepson School of Leadership Studies course, Civil War Leadership, taught by George Goethals and Jack Mountcastle. The course led Burr to realize that he could marry leadership and history, creating a self-designed concentration in historical leadership in American crisis. “The Jepson School throws these puzzle pieces at you and you assemble them into whatever picture that you want to make. This class helped me see the front of the puzzle box. [I wanted to see,] how can we learn from examples of the past through a leadership lens?”

But it was a guest lecture from University President Edward Ayers, a Civil War scholar, that brought it all together. After the lecture, Burr asked to continue the discussion about Ayers’ book, “What Caused the Civil War?” When the conversation turned to questions about Burr’s internship plans, Ayers, who is part of the Future of Richmond’s Past effort, presented the possibility of an internship and Burr signed up right away.

As it turns out, Burr’s exploration of leadership theory proved useful in the day-to-day of planning Civil War and Emancipation Day. The event, he explains, requires strong leadership to bring together a variety of disparate voices, all with their own goals and ideas, to craft a shared event that doesn’t disregard a dark and difficult past, but also shows how Richmond is trying to move forward.

“Our challenge is framing it in a way that shows how we came together,” he says. “I want us to serve as an example to other cities and organizations that are trying to unite a whole sea of voices.

“Richmond is going to be a focal point. [People will ask,] where’s that city, the capital of the Confederacy? How far has Richmond come, and what does that say about us as a city? What does that say about our country?”