A letter written by Ezra Baeli-Wang, a former UNC fencer, has more than 200 signatures from current and former UNC athletes calling for Silent Sam’s removal from campus.
Last week, the UNC System Board of Trustees announced a plan for the disposition and preservation of the Confederate monument. The plan calls for the construction of a new $5.3 million facility to house the statue, as well as technology and classrooms designed to tell the true history of the university.
With dozens of UNC-related groups speaking up about this decision, North Carolina student-athletes have banded together through this letter to put their own voice towards the situation.
“As current and former Tar Heels, we love our University and its people,” the letter reads. “We love our classmates and teammates, our coaches and our fans. All of them. A monument to those who fought and killed to keep Black people enslaved has no place on our campus. White supremacy has no place on our campus.”
So far, the letter has signatures from notable athletes such as basketball stars Brice Johnson and Harrison Barnes, football stars Anthony Ratliff-Williams and Elijah Hood and the majority of the national championship field hockey team from this season.
“The fact of the matter is that many, many members of the Carolina community see Silent Sam as a symbol of division and oppression,” Baeli-Wang said on the Aaron Keck show this week. “And regardless of whether or not anyone else out there sees it that way, a large population, including the 200-plus student-athletes I’m representing, see it that way.”
Baeli-Wang, a 2017 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who served as president of the UNC and ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Councils, says the letter would not have picked up momentum without the efforts of current student-athletes.
“I really cannot give enough credit to the students at UNC currently, the student-athletes that UNC who have chosen to get involved and speak out on a matter that is of the utmost importance.”
The plan for the disposition and preservation of Silent Sam goes before the UNC System Board of Governors today.
A separate letter calling for the removal of Silent Sam has also been created, which contains the signatures of former UNC student-athletes now in the NBA. Players such as Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse and Theo Pinson have signed on to the letter, which was written to express concerns about the proposal to house Silent Sam in a new building on campus.
“This “slap in the face” is not new to African Americans though,” that letter reads. “We have learned and observed many times in U.S. history whereby institutions turn their backs on marginalized people.
“Thus, we know this struggle will continue. We make a pledge to stay informed and connected with our voice and resources to activists who will work to bring justice and light to matters at UNC.”
Listen to Aaron Keck’s complete interview with Ezra Baeli-Wang here:
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