Support Confederate Monument Struggle at UNC Chapel Hill

Part of the WILPF Triangle Branch at our regular Wednesday sit-in at the UNC Chapel Hill Confederate statue (“Silent Sam”).

By Emily K. Keel
North Carolina's Triangle Branch

The statue of the Confederate soldier occupying the entry to UNC Chapel Hill has been the subject of controversy since it was erected in 1913. Many Black Student Movement protests were held there in the 1970’s, and other protests and speak-outs have been held at the monument over the years. Following the deadly protest in Charlottesville, the figure once again became central to protests regarding the overt racism it engenders.

Reacting to the Virginia tragedy, the Republican-controlled NC legislature passed a law prohibiting the removal of historic monuments on public property. Following days of protests at the site of the UNC monument in August 2017, the university's chancellor in Chapel Hill and the president of the university system petitioned Democratic Governor Cooper for a ruling on the removal of the monument. The governor immediately offered support for relocating the monument for safety concerns but the action was delayed by the university board of governors in deference to the legislature by which they were appointed.

UNC students have created regular sit-ins at the campus monument, the only such statue on any of the statewide university system grounds. The figure is called Silent Sam and our protest is called Silence Sam. The purpose is to raise awareness of the injustice and to educate fellow students and visitors or community members passing by.

In November 2017, student activists invited the Triangle WILPF to join the struggle. Since then, we have been a presence there each Wednesday for two hours. We distribute leaflets on the history of this and other monuments erected in the period of Jim Crow, nearly 50 years after the Civil War. The narrative put forth in support of Sam and other statues has been that they are meant to honor the soldiers for fighting for “their country” in a war where the North had no respect for the Southern way of life. However, the fight to maintain slavery and white supremacy was cited in numerous succession speeches as it was in the dedication of this monument and others around the state. At the 1913 dedication of Sam it was stated that such soldiers' “steadfastness had saved the very life of the Anglo-Saxon race in the South.”

A pictorial history of the monument can be viewed here. The UNC department of history has been instrumental in providing the supporting documents, informed opinion, and dedicated students for the mission.

The state Historical Commission has been charged with reviewing legal and historical data regarding the potential for moving monuments on the state Capitol grounds. A recent public hearing brought forth a contingent of Confederate veterans groups expressing that moving the monuments would be an insult to all veterans. The presence of the monument at the entry to the campus is a constant reminder to the African American community of the esteem with which some whites still hold the old South. It pays homage to a time when the South chose to leave the union in order to support the enslavement of fellow humans to maintain a way of life. It was dedicated at a time when the assertion of white supremacy was violent and merciless. It was anything but patriotism and the statue should certainly not be a point of celebration at this time. To allow this to occupy a place of honor at our state's flagship campus of the university system envelopes us in a cloud of shame.

Some have asked for the destruction of the monument and others for the relocation to a state historic site where one of the last battles of the war was fought. We are asking that people contact the historical commission with your comments about the disposition of the monuments at the state Capitol building at https://www.ncdcr.gov/

Contact the university system president, Margaret Spellings, at president@northcarolina.edu and Chancellor Folt at chancellor@unc.edu, to insist on the removal of Silent Sam.

Any comments from out of state conveying concern for this blatant message of white supremacy would support our efforts and be appreciated.

For additional information about the Confederate monuments or the efforts of Triangle WILPF, contact Emily Keel at ekkeel2me@gmail.com.