Planned Protest Turns into Bake Sale to Support Black Activism

UPDATE: One of the sources who provided comments for this story preferred to be kept anonymous. The pseudonym “Jane Doe” has been assigned for the person.

What started out as a demonstration to protest a gathering of pro-Confederate people in downtown Chapel Hill turned into a bake sale to support a UNC group founded on Black activism.

Rumors of a rally planned by white supremacists led to the organization of an event by community members who call themselves anti-racists. Stationed at the Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin Street, people gathered Saturday morning in the breezy weather to show solidarity against racism.

But the event ended up having an additional element to it.

Organizers and community members brought various baked goods and sold them to help fundraise for the UNC Black Congress, an activism group that promotes the liberation of Black students.

Jane Doe, a UNC student, is involved with the organization. She said turning a gathering into a fundraiser helps Black Congress greatly, since it’s not officially recognized by the university.

“Since we’re not a UNC organization,” she said, “the way we get our funds and are able to put on events is through community support. So, it helps a lot.”

Doe shared some words with the crowd about how some African American students say going to UNC is something their ancestors always dreamed of. But she said her experience doesn’t entirely fit with that notion.

“While I understand and appreciate that sentiment,” said Doe, “I personally don’t take it up in my own life. I realize my ancestors’ dream wasn’t me attending a university like UNC that supports and backs white supremacy.”

That discomfort with the university’s historical ties to racism is partially what led to the creation of Black Congress in 2016. The group largely focused on activism around the removal of the Confederate monument called Silent Sam, which was felled by protesters in 2018. But Doe says the group still works to address other elements of the university that reflect white supremacy and examine how Black students can be marginalized.

While no gathering of pro-Confederate people seemed to have happened, Saturday’s event was not without some conflict. A man walked up to the plaza and bake sale organizers said they recognized him from past rallies with the League of the South. That group has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. The man was met with loud chants of “racist, go home.”

An anti-racist protest gathers at the Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin Street.

After about ten minutes, the man bought baked goods from the sale and then quickly crossed the street. Tension among those at the plaza died down.

Lindsay Ayling, one of the organizers of the protest and a PhD candidate at UNC, spoke to the crowd. She said the other gathering not happening is a testament to the solidarity of the anti-racist community over the last year.

“If a bunch of racists are too afraid of a bake sale to make themselves known in Chapel Hill,” said Ayling, “then we know that we’ve won.”

Doe said as she approaches graduation, she will continue reflecting on what elements the generations before her would dream of regarding her experience. An English major, she said her efforts to recognize and internalize the literary work of African Americans is one of those elements. She said the activism of Black Congress would also be included.

“I think they’d also appreciate the community we’ve developed,” Doe said, “and the commitment to understanding Blackness not as a monolith, [but] understanding Blackness as greatness. Often, we have to prove why we’re great, but that’s not necessary. And I think they’d appreciate that.”

Planned Protest Turns into Bake Sale to Support Black Activism

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