Next week, UNC is going to add a historical marker to campus that’s long been pushed for by some Chapel Hill community members. James Cates Jr., a 22-year-old Chapel Hill resident who was murdered in 1970, will be memorialized by a plaque at the heart of the university near where he was fatally stabbed.
Before that, however, the UNC Board of Trustees took a procedural step to change their policies regarding future historical markers.
Provost Chris Clemens addressed the university’s Board of Trustees on Thursday at the beginning of its full meeting. He and Trustee Gene Davis made slight updates to the existing policy on naming university facilities and units – with Clemens describing the change as necessary to update with the plans to install the Cates memorial plaque.
“This would allow memorial and markers for significant historical events, consistent with recent practice,” said UNC’s provost. “So, it’s updating the policy to follow recent practice, and allowing in the future considerations we would have for [establishing markers on campus detailing] significant historical events.”
Provost Chris Clemens addresses the Board of Trustees about a policy change to reflect plans for the James Cates Jr. memorial marker on campus. (Photo via Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
The policy previously had no mention of what practices were needed to install a memorial or marker on campus after a specific event, with the existing wording largely focused on an individual’s worthiness for becoming the namesake of a building or facility. Clemens said, though, that these changes now allow the Board of Trustees to be the determining body for any such memorials or markers added to campus.
“So, what you’d be judging, in the case of the language that was already there, is whether someone’s contribution is sustained and substantial. You’ve always done that and [decided] whether a person has made the sustained and substantial contribution [to earn the honor.] Now, you’d be determining whether a particular event someone wants to memorialize is significant enough to warrant a memorial.”
Since the renaming of several buildings on UNC campus has been a controversial and evolving topic over the last decade, the provost also expressed that the changes approved by the board were unrelated.
“This policy does not contemplate naming buildings or other things after historical events, it’s only historical markers,” said Clemens. “It only applies to memorials in the form of a marker.”
Trustee Marty Kotis added a friendly amendment to the approved changes on Thursday, which is to ensure the markers align with the university’s values. He urged caution in the future of adding memorials that could later draw attention from groups outside of the campus community, couching it as a potential matter of student safety.
UNC Trustee Marty Kotis (right) speaks to the board on Thursday, November 10, 2022. (Photo via Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
“I think we need to be extremely careful,” he said, “and language should be considered, or why we’re doing all of this should be considered. We’re not a museum, in a lot of ways. We are here to provide the benefits of the university to the people of the state.
“I just want to make sure,” Kotis added, “that we stay try to that kind of core educational mission in protecting our students and not focus on various places that could be a problem.”
The broader Chapel Hill community, as well as UNC groups, have pushed for years for a permanent recognition of Cates on campus. On the night of November 21, 1970, after an inter-racial dance held near the central gathering place called The Pit, members of a white supremacy motorcycle gang stabbed the 22-year-old during the altercation. Cates bled out and died after the lack of a quick response from campus authorities and those nearby.
A yearbook photo of James Cates Jr., a Chapel Hill resident who was stabbed to death on November 21, 1970. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
Prior attempts by UNC students to leave a marker in The Pit were taken away by the university. But in August, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced that with the trustees’ and the Cates family’s approval, a permanent memorial would be constructed.
UNC will host the public for a memorial dedication to James Cates Jr. at 4 p.m. on Monday, November 21. The event will be by the Carolina Union and The Pit, with community members invited to lay flowers at the site throughout the day.
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