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| ‘Silent Sam’ Confederate Statue Is Toppled at University of North Carolina | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Protesters toppled the towering Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday night, perhaps ending — or perhaps only intensifying — a debate over the propriety of a divisive symbol at a renowned public institution. | Protesters toppled the towering Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday night, perhaps ending — or perhaps only intensifying — a debate over the propriety of a divisive symbol at a renowned public institution. |
| The statue, erected in 1913 and known as Silent Sam, fell after nightfall on the campus, brought down by demonstrators who condemned it as an enduring tribute to white supremacy. Although university officials had signaled their misgivings about the statue’s continued presence on their campus, they had argued that state law forbade them from moving the monument without a panel’s approval. It was not clear on Tuesday what would ultimately become of the damaged statue. | |
| Critics of the monument celebrated its downing on the night before classes began, and some tried to bury the soldier’s head in the North Carolina dirt. But officials soon secured and removed the fallen statue from the area where it had stood, and by midday Tuesday, university leaders were criticizing the protesters’ actions. | |
| Carol L. Folt, the university chancellor, acknowledged in an open letter on Tuesday that the statue “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.” Still, in a possible signal of repercussions to come, the chancellor said Monday night’s events were “unlawful and dangerous.” | |
| The university estimated that about 250 people were involved in Monday night’s demonstration. At least one person was arrested on charges of concealing one’s face during a public rally and resisting arrest, the university said. | The university estimated that about 250 people were involved in Monday night’s demonstration. At least one person was arrested on charges of concealing one’s face during a public rally and resisting arrest, the university said. |
| Top officials of the statewide University of North Carolina system took a hard line in their own statement on Tuesday, calling the vandalism of the monument “unacceptable, dangerous, and incomprehensible” and adding that “mob rule and the intentional destruction of public property will not be tolerated.” They said the campus police were gathering evidence to “inform a full criminal investigation.” | |
| The statement was signed by the chairman of the university system’s board of governors, Harry L. Smith Jr., and the president of the system, Margaret Spellings. The state legislature elects the board, which names the president. | |
| Before the statue was felled, demonstrators, who gathered to oppose possible sanctions against a student who splashed red ink and blood on the monument in April, marched across the campus and sometimes exchanged verbal barbs with counterprotesters. | Before the statue was felled, demonstrators, who gathered to oppose possible sanctions against a student who splashed red ink and blood on the monument in April, marched across the campus and sometimes exchanged verbal barbs with counterprotesters. |
| Eventually during the hourslong demonstration speckled with smoke bombs and chants, protesters erected coverings around the monument, shielding some of the statue’s critics while they worked to bring down the display that had loomed above the campus for more than a century. | Eventually during the hourslong demonstration speckled with smoke bombs and chants, protesters erected coverings around the monument, shielding some of the statue’s critics while they worked to bring down the display that had loomed above the campus for more than a century. |
| Patty Matos, a 23-year-old senior who was at the protest while the statue still stood, said demonstrators had linked arms and formed concentric circles around the statue to protect those putting up banners. | Patty Matos, a 23-year-old senior who was at the protest while the statue still stood, said demonstrators had linked arms and formed concentric circles around the statue to protect those putting up banners. |
| One protester, she said, handed out bandannas with the words “Sam Must Fall” printed on them. | One protester, she said, handed out bandannas with the words “Sam Must Fall” printed on them. |
| Eventually, Silent Sam did fall. | Eventually, Silent Sam did fall. |
| “It was all smiles and joy and dancing and jubilation, to be honest,” said Jasmin Howard, a 28-year-old alumna who was present for the protest and standing in the back of the crowd when the statue was brought down. “It was really a joyous moment.” | “It was all smiles and joy and dancing and jubilation, to be honest,” said Jasmin Howard, a 28-year-old alumna who was present for the protest and standing in the back of the crowd when the statue was brought down. “It was really a joyous moment.” |
| But the authorities beyond Chapel Hill, even those who opposed the statue, reacted with conspicuous caution. | But the authorities beyond Chapel Hill, even those who opposed the statue, reacted with conspicuous caution. |
| Ford Porter, a spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper, said, “The governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustrations, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities.” | Ford Porter, a spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper, said, “The governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustrations, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities.” |
| A university spokeswoman, Jeni Cook, refused on Tuesday to say whether police officers on the scene had been instructed to avoid interfering with the protesters while they were toppling the statue. | A university spokeswoman, Jeni Cook, refused on Tuesday to say whether police officers on the scene had been instructed to avoid interfering with the protesters while they were toppling the statue. |
| “In keeping with public safety best practices, we do not discuss the specifics of our security operations, including staffing for events,” Ms. Cook said in an email. | “In keeping with public safety best practices, we do not discuss the specifics of our security operations, including staffing for events,” Ms. Cook said in an email. |
| Although Confederate monuments have long been a source of angst in the modern South, they have come under particular scrutiny since a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015. The next month, South Carolina lawmakers removed a Confederate battle flag that flew outside the State House in Columbia, and other symbols of the Confederacy have since been removed or challenged. | Although Confederate monuments have long been a source of angst in the modern South, they have come under particular scrutiny since a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015. The next month, South Carolina lawmakers removed a Confederate battle flag that flew outside the State House in Columbia, and other symbols of the Confederacy have since been removed or challenged. |
| The dramatic demonstration on Monday night in Chapel Hill followed decades of controversy and protest at U.N.C. that had accelerated in the last year, after the fatal eruption of racist violence in Charlottesville, Va. The university said last year that “removing the Confederate monument is in the best interest of the safety of our campus,” but U.N.C. officials also contended that a state law foreclosed any immediate, unilateral changes. | The dramatic demonstration on Monday night in Chapel Hill followed decades of controversy and protest at U.N.C. that had accelerated in the last year, after the fatal eruption of racist violence in Charlottesville, Va. The university said last year that “removing the Confederate monument is in the best interest of the safety of our campus,” but U.N.C. officials also contended that a state law foreclosed any immediate, unilateral changes. |
| Under that law, enacted in 2015 and similar in its language and structure to other statutes shielding Confederate-themed displays in the South, a “monument, memorial or work of art owned by the state” may not be “removed, relocated or altered in any way” without the consent of a state historical commission. | Under that law, enacted in 2015 and similar in its language and structure to other statutes shielding Confederate-themed displays in the South, a “monument, memorial or work of art owned by the state” may not be “removed, relocated or altered in any way” without the consent of a state historical commission. |
| University officials resisted calls, including one from the governor, that they invoke a loophole in the law, which allows for “an object of remembrance” to be removed without the commission’s approval if it certain officials deem it “a threat to public safety because of an unsafe or dangerous condition.” | University officials resisted calls, including one from the governor, that they invoke a loophole in the law, which allows for “an object of remembrance” to be removed without the commission’s approval if it certain officials deem it “a threat to public safety because of an unsafe or dangerous condition.” |
| And the university took little action to set into motion the formal process for consideration of the monument’s fate. Before Monday’s protest, a state panel had planned to meet Wednesday to weigh the legal standing of private individuals who had sought the statue’s removal. The commission said it had not received any requests for action from the university system or the board that oversees it. | And the university took little action to set into motion the formal process for consideration of the monument’s fate. Before Monday’s protest, a state panel had planned to meet Wednesday to weigh the legal standing of private individuals who had sought the statue’s removal. The commission said it had not received any requests for action from the university system or the board that oversees it. |
| The statue has been a part of campus life in Chapel Hill for over a century. The United Daughters of the Confederacy proposed the monument, which the university’s board approved in June 1908. | The statue has been a part of campus life in Chapel Hill for over a century. The United Daughters of the Confederacy proposed the monument, which the university’s board approved in June 1908. |
| At the time of the statue’s 1913 unveiling, one speaker boasted that, just 100 yards away, he had “horsewhipped a Negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds” after his return from Appomattox. He also declared that “the whole Southland is sanctified by the precious blood of the student Confederate soldier,” and that although the Confederacy was defeated, “the cause for which they fought is not lost.” | At the time of the statue’s 1913 unveiling, one speaker boasted that, just 100 yards away, he had “horsewhipped a Negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds” after his return from Appomattox. He also declared that “the whole Southland is sanctified by the precious blood of the student Confederate soldier,” and that although the Confederacy was defeated, “the cause for which they fought is not lost.” |
| And the university president at the time of the statue’s unveiling alluded to Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, when he hailed the monument as “an ornament to the campus” and as “a splendid lesson in granite and bronze to all coming generations of students throughout the years that in the words of the immortal Lee, ‘Duty is the sublimest word in the English language.’” | And the university president at the time of the statue’s unveiling alluded to Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, when he hailed the monument as “an ornament to the campus” and as “a splendid lesson in granite and bronze to all coming generations of students throughout the years that in the words of the immortal Lee, ‘Duty is the sublimest word in the English language.’” |
| But the protests of recent months had suggested that the statue might endure only so much longer. Ms. Matos, the senior, attended a demonstration last year, but said that the protest Monday night felt different. | But the protests of recent months had suggested that the statue might endure only so much longer. Ms. Matos, the senior, attended a demonstration last year, but said that the protest Monday night felt different. |
| “I felt a little bit more fed up this time around,” she said. “Last year, it felt like something almost a little bit more routine.” | “I felt a little bit more fed up this time around,” she said. “Last year, it felt like something almost a little bit more routine.” |
| On Monday, she said, “It felt a little bit more determined.” | On Monday, she said, “It felt a little bit more determined.” |