UNC proposes new $5.3 million building to house 'Silent Sam' Confederate statue

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said that experts concluded that the rifle-carrying statue, known as "Silent Sam," could not be returned to its previous home on campus because of public safety concerns.

However, the statue also cannot legally be moved to a museum, mausoleum or cemetery because of a state law that prevents the removal of state monuments without the approval of the North Carolina Historical Commission.

So the university plans to build a new indoor facility on campus to house Silent Sam, Folt said on Monday. The new building, at a proposed cost of $5.3 million, will provide historical context for the statue and for the university's broader history.

"(We plan to) make it a truly strong interactive center that tells our full history of this university, from before settlement to its emergence this day as one of the leading public state research universities in America," Folt said.

UNC's "Silent Sam" statue was toppled in August by protesters.

The proposed solution takes a middle course in trying to appeal to the statue's opponents, who say it glorified the Confederacy's support of slavery, while also accommodating those who see the statue as remembering a key part of the university's history.

The facility and statue would be available to the public, but with buffers and security around it to protect public safety, Folt said. Several UNC officials said their first preference was to move the statue off campus, but they were limited by state law.

A summary of the proposal was sent to the Board of Governors, and a report with more specifics will be made public, Folt said.

Statue honored the Confederacy

In August, on the eve of the first day of classes, a group of protesters knocked over the controversial statue. Chancellor Folt called the protest "unlawful and dangerous" but acknowledged that the statue was a longstanding source of division for students, staff and alumni alike.

"The monument has been divisive for years, and its presence has been a source of frustration for many people, not only on our campus, but throughout the community," she said.

Silent Sam was dedicated in 1913 -- its construction at the request of the United Daughters of the Confederacy -- to remember the "sons of the University who died for their beloved Southland 1861-1865," says UNC's website.

At its dedication, Confederate veteran Julian Shakespeare Carr praised the Confederate army for "sav[ing] the very life of the Anglo Saxon race in the South," according to the university's archives.

Confederate statue's fate on UNC campus hangs in the balance

The monument, which was first called "Silent Sam" in 1954 by campus newspaper The Daily Tar Heel, faced only occasional protests and defacing over the years. In an attempt to add context, a monument to slaves -- called the Unsung Founders Memorial -- was dedicated 100 feet away in 2005.

Campaigns to remove Confederate monuments from public property gained traction after the 2015 murder of nine African-Americans by a self-described white supremacist at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Since then, Confederate statues, monuments and flags have come down in North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Maryland and elsewhere.

"This is part of a much bigger cultural reckoning, but one much rooted in the American South. We live in a culture and country that hasn't sufficiently reckoned with its darker history," said Cary Levine of the UNC faculty executive committee, which moderated a dozen workshops on the statue's future.

Intense debate over its place on campus

The future of Silent Sam had been a topic of discussion for months among the university's students, staff, faculty and the wider Chapel Hill community.

America's complicated history with its Confederate past

The university's Student Government Association has called for the statue to be moved to another site on campus. The SGA said it should be put "in a museum or library collection while making it clear that we do not glorify our violent past."

Students also had suggested adding "contextualization" -- or proper historical perspective -- or putting up another sculpture to replace Silent Sam, said Emily Blackburn, undergraduate student body vice president and chair of a student advisory committee.

"Those most outspoken about the issue, I would say they're in favor of contextualization," Blackburn said. "I think that's what it all boils down to, no matter your thoughts on the statue itself."

A letter in The Daily Tar Heel signed by 54 African-American members of UNC's faculty took a harder line.

"There is no way to re-erect the statue without valorizing an incomplete version of history," the letter read. "A symbol of racism, violence, and white supremacy has no place on our 21st century campus often called the 'University of the People.'"

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