The report ignores the fact that Silent Sam is a monument to Jim Crow white supremacy, as historians @UNC have shown. vox.com/the-big-idea/2…
The report ignores the fact that, according to art historians & artists @UNCArtDept, Silent Sam is “a powerful visual symbol erected as a form of white supremacist intimidation & in tacit defense of a racist social order.” art.unc.edu/about/departme…
The report ignores faculty @UNCSouth who state, “Silent Sam does not represent the Confederacy or the Civil War accurately. [It] represents a current of racial hatred that many who otherwise wish to honor the Confederate dead reject.” south.unc.edu/silent-sam/
The report ignores the fact that, for black students & faculty, Silent Sam is “a monument to white supremacy, steeped in a history of violence against Black people” & “creates a racially hostile work environment” dailytarheel.com/article/2018/0…
The report ignores the important work done by generations of student activists who have researched Silent Sam’s history & shared it publicly through activism. uncbsm.com/silentsam
In the report on Silent Sam, “the word ‘student’ appears only five times.” Ignoring students “only builds on the mounting rage against this monument, & it will not improve until the public opinion of the students is taken into account.” dailytarheel.com/article/2018/1…
The report ignores faculty @unc_law who challenge state law on objects of commemoration.
Report states, “Relocation to an off-campus location…does not comply with the current law,” misrepresenting political choice as legal fait accompli
newsobserver.com/opinion/articl…
Report states, “Relocation to an off-campus location…does not comply with the current law,” misrepresenting political choice as legal fait accompli
newsobserver.com/opinion/articl…
The report ignores the Faculty Council resolution on Silent Sam that states, “Returning the statue to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus would reaffirm the values of white supremacy that motivated its original installation.” newsobserver.com/news/local/art…
How will a new University History & Education Center “contextualize” Silent Sam in a way that prevents the monument from continuing to do the work of white supremacy on campus? This question is not answered by the report.
An important lesson of the debates @UNC over Silent Sam, the Unsung Founders Memorial, Kenan Stadium, Saunders/Hurston Hall, etc. is that merely celebrating great men & events is a problem. We need to look critically & openly at our history.
