Tale of Two Statues RevisiTed

On March 26, 2015, I published a post regarding two Civil War statues, one in my hometown dedicated "in honor of the soldiers and sailors of the County of Oswego who nobly defended the Union, 1861-1865."  The second was in my adopted home of Chapel Hill, North Carolina dedicated "to the sons of the University who entered the war of 1861-1865 in answer to the call of their country (the Confederacy)."

The second statue (known as Silent Sam) was erected in 1913 on the UNC campus at a time when a narrative was spread throughout the region that the Civil War was all about the independence of southern states, similar to 1776.  However, the spark for such independence was the desire to perpetuate the slavery of blacks.  Such slavery ended when the 13th Amendment was added to the Constitution in December 1865.  

In 1913 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was an all-white public institution.  It became integrated in 1955.  As I stated in my original post, "How can the University's administration expect the black student body, faculty and staff to tolerate a symbol of a time when white North Carolinians fought to preserve the slavery of their ancestors?"

In 2008, I sent a letter to the editor of The Daily Tar Heel (student newspaper) advocating Silent Sam's lawful removal from the campus.  My letter drew a threat from another reader.  Subsequently, the State passed a law making it illegal to remove such Civil War statues.

On August 20, 2018, demonstrators pulled Silent Sam off of his pedestal.  This was the culmination of decades of protests and vandalism against the statue's presence on the campus.  

The demonstration started in the center of Chapel Hill in support of a UNC student who faced criminal charges for throwing red ink and blood at Silent Sam on an earlier date.  However, it quickly "morphed" into a march to the statue.  In spite of police presence there, the demonstrators were able to take down the Confederate symbol.  Many demonstrators were arrested by the police.  Campus staff placed the statue on a flatbed truck and removed it from the area.  

The University issued the following statement: "Last night's actions were unlawful and dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured.  While we respect that protesters have the right to demonstrate, they do not have the right to damage state property (Silent Sam)."    

It has become a polemic issue as to what to do with the removed Silent Sam.  On December 14, 2018, the University's Board of Governors was set to vote on a proposal to build a $5.3 million historical center on campus where Silent Sam would be placed.

However, "just hours ahead of the Board Meeting, (Spectacular Magazine) published an open letter from (UNC) athletes that accused the University of using black students as 'accessories' and criticized the Athletic Department for not taking a stand on (Silent Sam)."  The Board voted against the proposal.  What to do with Silent Sam remains in limbo. 

On January 15, 2019, at the direction of UNC Chapel Hill's Chancellor, the statue's base, which bore plaques commemorating university students who had fought for the Confederacy, was removed as well.