A UNC commission examining the university’s history formally identified another campus building it hopes will get its name changed due to connections to white supremacy.

The university’s Commission on History, Race and A Way Forward approved a recommendation to rename Morrison Residence Hall during its virtual meeting Monday. After reviewing the history of Cameron A. Morrison, the building’s namesake, the group unanimously voted to include the building in its next batch of building names sent to UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to review for potential removal.

Morrison Residence Hall is one of the latest buildings to see its namesake’s history explored following the lifting of a five-year moratorium by the university on renaming campus buildings in June. While the commission saw its initial four recommendations successfully removed by the Board of Trustees, the recommendation will not be immediately sent to Guskiewicz for review.

Morrison, a former North Carolina governor and U.S. Senator, had several ties to white supremacy during his lifetime. In addition to organizing a vigilante group called the Red Shirts and participating in the 1898 Wilmington insurrection, Morrison also based his 1920 governor campaign on his credentials as a white supremacist. The commission’s presentation Monday said Morrison also actively supported Jim Crow laws until his death in 1953.

Morrison did not ever attend UNC, but served on its Board of Trustees during his governorship and by appointment beginning in 1929. University leadership honored Morrison with the namesake of the residence hall in 1964. It’s the second building on campus named after a white supremacist during the Civil Rights Movement, with the Josephus Daniels building being dedicated in 1967.

The Daniels Building is one of four buildings the Commission on History, Race and A Way Forward recommended the UNC Board of Trustees consider renaming in July. Along with the Carr Building, Ruffin Residence Hall and Aycock Residence Hall, the commission said the Daniels Building should be changed due to its namesakes’ ties to white supremacy and disenfranchisement of Black people. The Board of Trustees formally removed the names on July 29, the first approval of a campus building name changes since 2015.

Morrison’s name has already been removed from two other public buildings in 2020. North Carolina A&T State University removed Morrison from one of its residence halls in September, while a branch of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library changed its name to SouthPark Regional Library in October.

When asked about the university’s process for selecting new names of changed buildings, commission co-chair Jim Leloudis said he believes an advisory committee has been put together to brainstorm such policy.

“At some point in the near future,” he said Monday, “the trustees will lay out a process for renaming buildings. What our role in that will be, that’s not clear at this point either.”

Leloudis said he is currently compiling a portfolio of evidence examining the namesake of Grimes Residence Hall, Bryant Grimes, to be reviewed by the commission in coming months. Once sent to the chancellor, recommendations will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees based on a new policy adopted this summer to determine need for namesake removal.

An ad hoc committee on Honorific Naming Policy for UNC is set to meet Friday, December 11.

Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

 

 

Related Stories
‹
Committee Reviewing UNC Building Names Finalizes Report to Chancellor
One year ago, a committee was tasked by UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to review and formally recommend whether to change namesakes of several buildings. Last week, the group submitted its final report to the university — meaning changes could be coming soon to remove representation of white supremacy and bigotry on campus. The […]
UNC Announces New Names For Two Campus Buildings
Beginning Friday, former Tar Heels Hortense McClinton and Henry Owl have their names installed on campus buildings. UNC announced its formal name replacements for two buildings that saw their namesakes stripped last summer. McClinton Residence Hall, now named for the first Black professor hired at UNC, replaces the former Aycock Residence Hall. The Henry Owl […]
UNC Trustees Remove 4 White Supremacist Names from Campus Buildings
The UNC Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to remove four namesakes of university figures from campus buildings due to their ties to white supremacy. The board voted 11-2 on the removal of Charles B. Aycock, Josephus Daniels, Julian S. Carr and Thomas Ruffin Sr. from four campus buildings. Trustees Allie Ray McCullen and John Preyer […]
UNC Adopts Policy to Rename Campus Buildings
The UNC Board of Trustees adopted a new policy for how the university will remove names from buildings and public spaces on its campus. Following the lifting of a 16-year moratorium on renaming campus buildings at its last meeting, the board spent a portion of its meeting Thursday crafting a policy to establish how such […]
UNC Commission Proposes Changes to 4 Buildings Named After White Supremacists
A UNC commission examining the university’s history of race and connections to white supremacy approved a resolution to change the names of four campus buildings. The UNC Commission on History, Race and A Way Forward met virtually Friday to discuss an action plan for the group as it works over the next three years. One […]
UNC Dedicates McClinton Residence Hall and Henry Owl Building
Friday morning, UNC held a dedication ceremony for the Hortense McClinton residence hall and the Henry Owl Building. The university installed these Carolina trailblazers' names on two buildings whose prior names were tied to white supremacy.
UNC Eyes New Names for 3 Buildings Tied to White Supremacy
The University of North Carolina is eying new names for three buildings on its flagship Chapel Hill campus named for people with white supremacist and racist ties. The News & Observer reports that an advisory committee met Thursday to discuss potential names. The committee will select a list of names for the university’s chancellor to […]
UNC Committee Recommends Changing 4 Intial Building Names, Sends Report to Trustees
A committee assembled by UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz unanimously voiced support of removing four names of university alumni with white supremacist ties from campus buildings. The 13-member group passed a motion Tuesday to recommend removals of Charles Aycock, Julian Carr, Josephus Daniels and Thomas Ruffin as namesakes of buildings to the chancellor. It is the […]
Anti-Racist Activists Look to Continue Addressing UNC's Past
More than 100 people spent Tuesday night gathered to celebrate the removal of the Confederate statue Silent Sam and champion the rights of minorities, LGBT community members and activists. The rally, however, was not just to remember the actions of protesters a year ago when they pulled down Silent Sam. It was also to encourage […]
UNC Trustees Move Forward With Plans to Construct On-Campus New Residence Hall
The UNC Board of Trustees approved requests for a construction manager and site selection for "Residence Hall 1," the first new residence hall on UNC's campus since 2006.
›