Court reverses settlement that would give $2.5 million in university funds to protect Confederate monument
A North Carolina state court has reversed a settlement that provided $2.5 million in university funds to preserve a Confederate monument.
The UNC system announced in November that a statue commonly known as “Silent Sam” would be given to the North Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans along with a $2.5 million charitable trust after the group sued the system over its removal of the monument, according to a 2019 news release.
The monument was pulled down by protesters in the midst of controversy over Confederate statues in 2018.
On behalf of three UNC law students, two UNC undergrad students and a faculty member, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a motion to intervene in the case and stay the distribution of funds, according to a January statement from the organization. A judge denied their motion, and in January they filed an appeal.
“This is a victory for students and faculty across the University of North Carolina System and for the people of North Carolina who viewed this settlement as fraudulent and the transfer of financing to be in direct conflict with the university’s mission,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the organization “This development stands as a reminder that we can’t stand silent in the face of injustice or tolerate actions that perpetuate dangerous racial ideology.”
Protesters pull down ‘Silent Sam’
The “Silent Sam” monument, a bronze statue of an anonymous Confederate soldier with a rifle in hand, was previously located at UNC-Chapel Hill. The statue became controversial in recent years and drew protesters from both sides of the debate around Confederate monuments.
In 2015, North Carolina passed a law preventing the removal, relocation or alteration of state-owned monuments, such as Silent Sam, but three years later protesters pulled it down themselves.
Because of public safety concerns, former Chancellor Carol Folt said the monument could not be returned to its previous mount.
The university previously planned to build a $5.3 million indoor facility on campus for the statue, but the plan was not approved.
The university had agreed to a $2.5 million trust using non-state funds to upkeep the monument and “potentially a facility to house and display the monument,” the University of North Carolina System said in a November release.
