When I heard Chancellor Folt blithely announce the plans to spend $5.3 million to build a home for a Confederate monument that glorifies the South’s willingness to go to war to preserve slavery, I wondered whether anyone had briefed her on the battle to build the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black History and Culture. […]
All posts tagged Silent Sam
Learn the History
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 18, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/12/18/learn-the-history/
Taking a stand on Silent Sam
Chapel Hill has its own version of Colin Kaepernick in UNC Chancellor Carol Folt. Though instead of taking a knee, Folt took a stand — on whether Silent Sam should be allowed back on the pedestal in the university’s front yard. Up to this point, I’d been disappointed that Folt had been so tentative in […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 10, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/09/10/taking-a-stand-on-silent-sam/
What Does Democracy Look Like?
Talk about a baptism by fire: His first day on the job, town manager Maurice Jones had to deal with a “spontaneous” rally by activists that ended with the toppling of Silent Sam, making national news. The statue’s demise happened close to the one-year anniversary of the deadly protest in Charlottesville, where Jones had been […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 27, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/08/27/what-does-democracy-look-like/
In Defense of Silent Sam
After Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child molestation, the statue of his boss, revered head coach Joe Paterno was removed. The statue had been erected to honor the popular “winningest” coach in football. Once it became apparent that Paterno knew about the child abuse for years but […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 21, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/08/21/in-defense-of-silent-sam/