Silent Sam Confederate statue toppling sparks concern, discussion
By Sierra Henry
Published in News on August 22, 2018 5:50 AM
CHAPEL HILL -- History cannot be erased.
It can be left out of books, records and documents, but Sylvia Barnes, president of the Goldsboro-Wayne Branch of the NAACP, said that history itself cannot be erased.
Statues, however, can be removed.
After standing in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's plaza for 105 years, more than 250 student protesters forcibly removed the Confederate statue known as "Silent Sam."
"We know from history ... that a lot of the information in history is because of slavery," Barnes said. "There was a hatred for the African-American. We were called Negroes. We were called blacks. We were even called the N-word, but I think a lot of it was people wanted to be at the top.
"You cannot erase that out of history -- even though it might be ugly, you might not want to hear it -- it cannot be taken out of history itself. But, a statue can be removed so you don't have to look at that."
Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Warsaw, denounced the removal of the Confederate statue for a reason similar to Barnes, who supports it being taken down. The statue is a part of American history, he said.
"I just don't think that we should bully our way into changing history," said Dixon.
The statue, which was erected in 1913, was torn down by students who gathered to protest its racist history.
Carol L. Folt, UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor, stated in an open letter Tuesday that the monument has caused frustration and has been a source of division on the university's campus for years.
In her statement, she denounced the actions of the students as "unlawful and dangerous," and said that the campus was "very fortunate that no one is injured."
Police are continuing to investigate the vandalism and are assessing the extent of the damage.
Carly Miller, UNC-Chapel Hill media relations manager, confirmed that one arrest has been made by UNC police. The person is charged for concealing their face during the public rally and resisting arrest.
According to state law, no person or persons shall "while wearing a mask, hood or device" that conceals or hides the identity of the "person, face or voice" hold a "meeting, or make any demonstration upon the private property of another."
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN
Silent Sam is a Confederate statue that was erected in remembrance of the 1,000 men of UNC who fought during the Civil War and was given to the university by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909.
According to UNC historical records, 40 percent of the university's students were enlisted in the Civil War.
The monument stood on McCorkle Place, the university's upper quad, facing Franklin Street and depicted a Confederate soldier holding a rifle in both of his hands. He lacks a cartridge box for ammunition.
A brass plaque on the front of the monument depicted a woman, who represented North Carolina, resting her hand on the shoulder of a seated student supposedly convincing him to join the war effort.
HISTORY OF
VANDALISM, RACISM
During the dedication of the monument in 1913, Julian Shakespeare Carr spoke about the efforts of the men the monument honored, as well as the women on the home front.
In his speech, he recounted a story in which he stated, "100 yards from where we stand, less than 90 days perhaps after my return from Appomattox, I horse-whipped a negro wench, until her skirts hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady."
Many of the students who protested the statue Monday cited the statue's history of white supremacy and racism. The speech by Carr is only one of the issues that have been brought up.
Since Silent Sam was erected, the monument has been desecrated and protested on numerous occasions dating back to the 1960s. The monument was also vandalized the night before NC State-UNC football games dating back to the 1950s.
In March 1965, the university's newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, published a letter to the editor by Al Ribak, former student, titled "Silent Sam Should Leave." The letter sparked discussion in the newspaper about the meaning of the monument and its history, whether it was a racist symbol and if it should be removed from campus.
Four days after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on April 8, 1968, Silent Sam was splashed with paint and tagged with graffiti. Other instances of discussion regarding the potential removal of the monument throughout the '70s, '80s, '90s and early 2000s are recorded on UNC's monument timeline.
On July 5, 2015, the words "Black Lives Matter," "KKK" and "Murderer" were spray painted on the base of the monument. Later that month, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that would prevent towns, universities and other public agencies from moving or removing "objects of remembrance" without permission from the North Carolina legislature.
A coalition of student activist groups presented a list of concerns and demands titled "A Collective Response to Anti-Blackness" to the UNC-Chapel Hill administration and the North Carolina General Assembly on Nov. 19, 2015. They demanded the removal of "the racist Confederate monument," as well as all Confederate monuments on UNC campuses.
Students are not the only ones who have pushed for the removal of the statue. Several departments at UNC have written and signed formal letters urging the university to relocate and remove the statue, including the Department of History, the Department of Art and Art History and more than 30 faculty members of the UNC School of Law.
MOVING FORWARD
According to state law, any "monument, memorial or work of art owned by the state" cannot be "removed, relocated or altered in any way" without the approval of a state historical commission.
The North Carolina Historical Commission will meet today to consider the Confederate Monuments Study Committee's formal recommendation regarding three State Capitol monuments.
The commission has received private individual requests for the relocation of Silent Sam, but has not received a petition from the university, the UNC system or its governing body, the Board of Governors, at this time. The commission may investigate the legal standing of the individual requests but does not plan to address their merits.
Gov. Roy Cooper supports the removal of all Confederate monuments from state property. Cooper said Monday evening following the protest that he "understands that people are frustrated" and he "shares their frustration." Cooper also said the "violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities."
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger released a statement Tuesday regarding the Silent Sam protest.
"Many of the wounds of racial injustice that still exist in our state and country were created by violent mobs, and I can say with certainty that violent mobs won't heal those wounds," Berger said.
"Only a civil society that adheres to the rule of law can heal these wounds, and politicians -- from the governor down to the local district attorney -- must start that process by ending the deceitful mischaracterization of violent riots as 'rallies' and re-establishing the rule of law in each of our state's cities and counties."