Board of Trustees Continues Conversation on Saunders Hall

The namesake of Saunders Hall, and other memorials on campus with controversial histories, was the topic of discussion at a UNC Board of Trustees Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Hundreds of students, faculty members, and concerned residents gathered at the Rizzo Conference Center to discuss finding a resolution that recognizes the controversial history in North Carolina that is recognized on UNC’s campus.

Saunders Hall has been a rallying point for those that feel disengaged by the university due to the building’s namesake. William L. Saunders was a Colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and has been linked to the Ku Klux Klan as a leader of the terrorist group in the late 1860’s.

In a presentation, the University Affairs Committee Chair Alston Gardner recognized that when Saunders Hall was named after the Confederate Colonel in 1922, one of Saunders’ listed qualifications by the board was that he was the “Head of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina.”

Eight speakers presented options for dealing with the naming of Saunders Hall.

First was Omololu Babatunde, Spokesperson for the Real Silent Sam Coalition at UNC.

“If we choose to keep Saunders Hall as a marker of UNC’s character,” she says, “we will find ourselves, ultimately, on the wrong side of history again.”

Among the other presenters there was mixed conversation on a resolution of Saunders Hall. Some said they believed the name should remain, but a plaque or some other recognition should be placed to tell the entire history of the campus.

UNC History Professor Jim Leloudis says that if it were up to him to change the name, he would do so “in an instant.”

“I think this curation, however it’s configured, is vitally important because we can’t let this historical moment evaporate,” he says. “I’ve been on this campus long enough to see this issue come around, and around, and around again.

“Things are said, things are done, and there is no ongoing legacy and engagement with these issues. And I think we are a weaker institution for that.”

Former UNC Trustee Arch Allen suggests Saunders Hall be renamed after Governor William Holden for his ambition to curb the KKK.

“[Holden] used 21st century attitudes on race, white supremacy, and other matters to condemn murders that occurred in the 19th century,” he says. “The Ku Klux Klan murdered people, white and black.”

UNC Alumnus Sam Fulwood, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, points to the students for the work they are continuing on campus for equality.

“[Their work] I believe is in the highest tradition and totally in keeping with the purpose of public institutions,” he says. “They’re speaking up and issuing challenges on matters they deem important to them, even when their voices make others uncomfortable.”

The committee announced an opening of public comment on the controversial names. The period will run through April 25.

You can see the background for the presentation from the meeting here.