Two Chapel Hill churches released a statement condemning the UNC System’s settlement with a pro-Confederate group over the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam.

The First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill and the St. Paul AME Church released a statement ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day speaking out against the settlement, where the UNC System ceded possession of the monument to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and created a $2.5 million trust for the statue’s upkeep.

The churches said they felt compelled to make the statement in “great disappointment, sadness and anger” ahead of the holiday celebrating the life of the civil rights activist. The statement said in a time filled with celebration for King’s accomplishments and the freedoms of all, the recent settlement reflects beliefs that oppress such freedoms:

“The members of the First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill and the St. Paul AME Church join in solidarity with the immediate members of our community…as well as members [of] various communities, partners and colleagues all over this state who cannot silently watch and witness the immoral and disrespectful funding to preserver a symbol of hurt and hate, and a symbol that continues to champion the mantle of institutional and systematic racism and white supremacy.

Public monies from public coffers were used to silence the racial extortion threatening the public life of the University and the cities of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. We applaud the efforts of our brothers and sisters in the various Houses of Worship, condemning the recent decisions regarding the Silent Sam Monument. Moreover, we stand with all condemning this agreement made without the opportunity for public dialogue or consideration.”

The statement follows a similar release from the United Church of Christ in Chapel Hill reacting to the UNC System’s settlement. In it, the church said while it was thankful the monument was no longer in the community, “a settlement that neither disposes of the statue permanently nor provides factual and sensitive historical information about its meaning demonstrates just how deep embedded racism is to the fabric of our life in North Carolina.”

In the days after the settlement, UNC students and community members led protests voicing their opposition to the UNC System’s actions.