UNC Leadership Continues Defense of Silent Sam Deal | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by Kari Travis.


    A civil rights organization is trying to send Confederate statue Silent Sam back to UNC Chapel Hill's campus, a top official says.

    Silent Sam - which was illegally toppled by protesters in August 2018 - stirred up more conflict in late November. The day before Thanksgiving, a committee of the University of North Carolina System's Board of Governors handed the statue over to the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, along with a $2.5 million trust fund. The deal was made as part of a lawsuit, but paperwork shows the university planned the hand-off before court documents were even filed.

    On Friday, Dec. 13, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an organization based in Washington, D.C., filed a motion to intervene in the case.

    But BOG Chairman Randy Ramsey continues to defend the agreement. The only other option was to put Silent Sam back on Chapel Hill's campus, he said.

    "It's irresponsible that the LCCRUL organization is working so hard to return Silent Sam to UNC-Chapel Hill, putting the safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors at risk," Ramsey wrote in a statement Monday, Dec. 16. "Law enforcement experts have made it crystal clear: returning the monument to campus would pose serious public safety risks to students, faculty and staff. The lawful settlement approved by the court ensures the monument never returns to any county where a UNC System institution is located, and the UNC System and the Board will continue to defend solutions that protect public safety."

    Early Monday, five board members released an opinion editorial in the Raleigh News and Observer, defending the deal with SCV.

    "We were given the responsibility to resolve a deeply divisive and personal issue," the editorial said. "While we have heard from citizens across this state who have expressed their gratitude for our efforts of finding a solution to this issue, we also acknowledge that others strongly disagree with the board's decision to approve the settlement. Compromise was a necessity."

    On Dec. 11, the LCCRUL sent a letter to the board. The settlement reached by members wasn't legal, the letter said, and leaders should take any actions "necessary to protect UNC's interests and to recover the $2.5 million dollars dedicated to paying that judgement."

    The letter was penned by Mark Dorosin and Elizabeth Haddix, co-directors of the Julius L. Chambers Center for Civil Rights. Dorosin and Haddix have a contentious history with the BOG. Two years ago, both were fired from their jobs at the UNC Center for Civil Rights, a left-leaning nonprofit that came under scrutiny by the BOG for practicing law as though it were a licensed firm. In 2017, the Republican-led BOG banned the center from such practice after the N.C. State Bar issued a letter of caution about the legality of the center's court involvement. Dorosin and Haddix continued their law practice under the rebranded umbrella of the CCCR.

    UNC late Monday afternoon released a slew of documents related to the lawsuit, including a timeline of events surrounding the deal, court filings, and a letter from SCV leader Kevin Stone. Carolina Journal is reviewing the documents.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Microsoft to Create 500 New Jobs in Wake County Carolina Journal, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Pro-Trump Republicans Are Strongly Anti-Media, New Study Notes


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.

HbAD1

far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.

HbAD2

An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top