UPDATE: The plaque at The Pit was taken down but the one on Franklin Street still stands.

 

Previously reported: 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Two plaques have been placed at UNC to honor two victims of racial violence in incidents that took place on UNC’s campus.

  • Student activists have placed two plaques on UNC's campus.
  • One honors a black woman that was beaten by Julian Carr, the second honors James Cates, a student beat by a white supremacist gang.
  • Activists cite an state statute as the reason why the plaques cannot be removed. 

The plaques were placed by student activists. A statement posted on the Take Action Chapel Hill Twitter, reads in part: “We install these monuments as an act of transfiguration. We are reclaiming the built landscape. It is not too late to do what those before us would not or could not. The future we want will not come about unless we fight for them."

 

 

 
They cite a state general statute as the reason the plaques cannot be taken down. The statement continues, “We are installing these monuments without permission, for the law is also a monument to white supremacy parading as unbiased, universal truth. North Carolina General Statute 100-2.1(b) was enacted in 2015 to prevent the removal of Confederate relics after a white boy who posed with a Confederate flag killed nine Black Charleston churchgoers for their race and Bree Newsome was arrested for taking down the South Carolina State House’s Confederate flag.” 
 
 

This is what the statute says: 

(b) Limitations on Removal. – An object of remembrance located on public property may not be permanently removed and may only be relocated, whether temporarily or permanently, under the circumstances listed in this subsection and subject to the limitations in this subsection. An object of remembrance that is temporarily relocated shall be returned to its original location within 90 days of completion of the project that required its temporary removal. An object of remembrance that is permanently relocated shall be relocated to a site of similar prominence, honor, visibility, availability, and access that are within the boundaries of the jurisdiction from which it was relocated. An object of remembrance may not be relocated to a museum, cemetery, or mausoleum unless it was originally placed at such a location. As used in this section, the term "object of remembrance" means a monument, memorial, plaque, statue, marker, or display of a permanent character that commemorates an event, a person, or military service that is part of North Carolina's history. The circumstances under which an object of remembrance may be relocated are either of the following: (1) When appropriate measures are required by the State or a political subdivision of the State to preserve the object. (2) When necessary for construction, renovation, or reconfiguration of buildings, open spaces, parking, or transportation projects. 

Who are the plaques honoring?

“Negro Wench” --  Julian Carr, a North Carolina industrialist, white supremacist and the name sake for Carrboro spoke at the dedication for Silent Sam back in 1913. He references “whipping” a black woman.  

People that are against Silent Sam frequently quote a portion of that speech in explaining why they want the statue removed: “One hundred yards from where we stand, less than ninety days perhaps after my return from Appomattox, I horse-whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady, and then rushed for protection to these University buildings where was stationed a garrison of 100 Federal soldiers.”

The plaque honoring the woman has been placed on Franklin Street.

James Cates – Cates was a UNC student activist who was stabbed to death by a white supremacist biker gang from Durham called the Storm Troopers in 1970 in the Pit. While many were present during his murder, only three were charged and they were acquitted by a jury, leaving Cates’ murder unsolved. Cates’ murder has been referenced as a reason that Silent Sam should be taken down.

The plaque honoring Cates has been placed in The Pit.