UNC Rejects Silent Sam Proposal

Unfortunately, Silent Sam won’t be getting his new multimillion dollar crib at UNC:

“he University of North Carolina has rejected a $5.3 million proposal to build a new home for “Silent Sam,” the statue of a Confederate soldier that was toppled from its pedestal in August by protesters at the flagship campus in Chapel Hill.

The university system’s board of governors on Friday cited concerns about public safety and the use of state funds for the project. The governors voted instead to form a committee to work with Chancellor Carol Folt and the Chapel Hill board of trustees to come up with a new plan.

The board of trustees last week recommended a new “history and education center” to house the statue and other exhibits from the university’s history. The center would have cost $5.3 million to build and $800,000 per year to run.

That plan prompted protests last week. Students, faculty and civil rights groups say Silent Sam, which stood on the Chapel Hill campus for more than a century, glorifies racism, slavery and white supremacy.

The governors directed the board of trustees to review other relocation options and submit a new recommendation by March 15. …”

In other words, the can has been kicked down the road to March 15. Silent Sam will eventually return to the UNC campus. The only question is when and where and how much crying there will be about it.