Confederate monument's pedestal ordered
removed at university in North Carolina
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[January 15, 2019]
By Alex Dobuzinskis
(Reuters) - The pedestal for a Confederate
monument called Silent Sam that has been a flashpoint for demonstrations
at a North Carolina university will be removed, the school's president
said on Monday, nearly five months after protesters toppled the statue.
The plan to remove the statue's base and commemorative plaques was
outlined by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Carol
Folt, in a statement that also said she would resign after this academic
year's graduation ceremonies.
"The base and tablets will be preserved until their future is decided,"
Folt said in a statement.
The effort to eliminate Confederate monuments gained momentum in the
United States after avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof in 2015
murdered nine black people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The rampage ultimately led to the removal of a Confederate flag from the
statehouse in Columbia.
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Silent Sam was erected in 1913 to honor soldiers of the pro-slavery
Confederacy killed during the U.S. Civil War. Protesters used ropes to
pull down the statue on Aug. 20.
Opponents of Confederate monuments say they glorify the South's legacy
of slavery and racism. Supporters view the memorials as emblems of
American history.
Some University of North Carolina students celebrated the plan to take
away the pedestal and plaques on Monday, according to Raleigh television
station WTVD.
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![](../images/011519pics/news_c5.jpg)
University of North Carolina police surround the toppled statue of a
Confederate soldier nicknamed Silent Sam on the school's campus
after a demonstration for its removal in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, U.S. August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo
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Folt announced her resignation on the same day University of North
Carolina's board of governors was meeting in closed session to
discuss leadership issues at her Chapel Hill campus, board chairman
Harry Smith said in a statement.
The board was not advised of Folt's plan to remove the pedestal and
plaques and was disappointed by her action, Smith said, and he
added, "It lacks transparency and it undermines and insults the
board's goal to operate with class and dignity."
Folt, in her statement, acknowledged the decision to remove the
objects could upset some people, but said her goal was to preserve
public safety and "begin the healing process."
In December, officials at Chapel Hill, which is the flagship campus
for the University of North Carolina system, recommended that Silent
Sam be relocated to a more than $5 million facility to house
historical artifacts.
But the University of North Carolina board of governors rejected the
plan.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Darren Schuettler)
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