Chapel Hill is reiterating its request to UNC – Chapel Hill that the university permanently remove the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam from where it stood on the university campus for more than 100 years.

Mayor Pam Hemminger and the Chapel Hill Town Council sent a letter on Friday restating the town’s request that the monument be moved. A similar letter was sent from the town to the university in August 2017.

The statue was pulled down form its pedestal on McCorkle Place by protesters on August 20, 2018. Three rallies have been held bringing groups with opposing views of the statue to the monument’s remaining base since the toppling. There have been more than two dozen arrests related to events at the statue over the last month.

The letter from Chapel Hill officials said the town “greatly values the long-established relationships” with the university.

“Critical to the success of our collaboration has always been our shared commitment to being a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for everyone who lives, works, learns, plays and visits in Chapel Hill,” the letter reads.

The town cited four reasons for requesting the statue’s “expeditious and permanent relocation.”

  1. Prominent placement of the Silent Sam monument at McCorkle Place in downtown Chapel Hill is an offense to the entire Chapel Hill community, including African-American students, faculty members, university employees, local residents, and business persons who call Chapel Hill home, as well as to returning alumni and the countless fans and tourists who visit our Town every year. To them and to us, Silent Sam and its roots in pro-slavery, pro-segregation ideology represent the antithesis of the high value that UNC and the Town of Chapel Hill place on being a welcoming and inclusive place for all.

  2. Strong emotions surrounding Silent Sam have existed for many years, including escalating tensions and frequent clashes that have occurred this year. These emotions demonstrate the very clear and present danger to public safety that will continue to intensify if the statue is returned to McCorkle Place or another prominent outdoor campus location.

  3. Downtown businesses and the Town’s reputation as one of the best small towns in the nation have suffered as a result of the tensions and outbreaks of violence. These impacts were outlined in a letter from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership (August 30, 2018). Continued unrest will be increasingly detrimental to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Chapel Hill that we have worked so hard together to achieve.

  4. The financial and other resource costs to the University and the Town associated with the statue and these on-going events are placing an unsustainable strain on our mutual aid agreement for public safety that is vitally important to keep students and the entire community safe during downtown student celebrations and other events throughout the school year.

The letter was signed by the entire Town Council and was addressed to UNC – Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt.

The UNC System Board of Governors has directed Folt and the campus Board of Trustees to develop a plan for the future of the monument and present it to the board by mid-November.

You can read the full letter here.

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