It is time for North Carolina to learn from its history and move forward with a welcoming environment for all in the wake of more tension over Confederate monuments in the state, the governor said on Thursday morning.

Democratic Governor Roy Cooper was in Pittsboro Thursday for an event promoting Finish Line grants, which provide funds to students who run into financial hardships when nearing completion of their community college program.

Cooper spoke with reporters after the event and was asked about the decision by the North Carolina Historical Commission on Wednesday to leave three Confederate monuments in place on the state Capitol grounds. Cooper’s administration had requested the statues be moved to a Civil War battlefield in Johnston County.

“North Carolina needs to realize that we can document and learn from our history without idolizing painful symbols,” Cooper said.

“North Carolina is welcoming to all people,” Cooper continued, “and our most prominent public places should reflect that.”

The decision from the historical commission came about 36 hours after protesters pulled the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam down from its pedestal on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus.

At least one UNC System Board of Governors member has asked what steps are being taken to repair and reinstall the monument that has been a point of protest for decades.

State Senator Valerie Foushee, who represents Orange and Chatham counties, is a graduate of UNC. She recalled protesting the monument 40 years ago.

“To see it take this long for an unfortunate incident to bring what some are calling resolution is not the way we would’ve wanted it to happen,” Foushee said after Thursday’s event in Pittsboro. “But here we are.”

Foushee, along with local House Representatives Verla Insko and Graig Meyer, filed a bill during the legislative short session that would have ordered Silent Sam be moved to a location where the monument, which was erected in 1913, could have been preserved and further contextualized. The bill did not move forward in either chamber of the General Assembly.

Foushee said the tense nature surrounding Silent Sam has been growing since the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, where a counterprotester was killed.

“In terms of the people being listened to and feeling that their concerns were considered, that something was going to happen.”

But Foushee added she would have preferred the statue been removed in a different way, rather than it being pulled down by protesters.

“I don’t think any of us would promote violence of any kind,” Foushee said, “that we would promote what others are calling ‘mob rule.’”

Cooper said he understands the frustration of the protesters who have been calling for the removal of Silent Sam.

“I do not agree with or condone what happened with the toppling of the statue, but I believe we need to look forward. And that’s what I’m going to try to do as governor.”

Foushee added it was important to determine a path forward.

“There needs to be a way of determining how we move forward,” Foushee said, “and how we move forward with healing.”

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