CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Town of Chapel Hill says although they removed a plaque dedicated to the woman who Julian Carr referenced beating at his 1913 dedication to Silent Sam, they cannot confirm where it is. 

  • Chapel Hill says they removed monuments memorializing both the woman whose beating was referenced at the dedication of the Silent Sam statue and the president of the confederacy. 
  • The town now says they cannot confirm where the 'Negro Wench' plaque is.
  • A pro-confederate group posted a picture of the plaque on top of a confederate flag. 

Friday the town of Chapel Hill sent out a notice informing the public that the 'Negro Wench' and 'Jefferson Davis Highway' memorials had been removed from Franklin Street, citing safety concerns. 

INITIAL REPORT: Chapel Hill Removes Markers From Franklin Street

In a release, the town said they would try to return the monuments to the artists who created or had claim to them. 

But, in the midst of assurances from the town, a pro-confederate group posted a picture of the monument broken and on top of a confederate flag.

 

 

Now the artists responsible for the plaque want answers. 
“Nobody I know of has been contacted to pick up our marker," said Annie Simpson, a student of UNC and one of the artists who made the plaque. "Then we saw photos of the plaque on top of confederate flags and people saying they had stolen it again.”
This is not the first time the plaque has been vandalized. A week before, it was stolen but recovered by police. 
The group Defend UNC released a statement Friday saying, " For over a year, activists have been demanding that the Town of Chapel Hill remove the Jefferson Davis Highway marker on Franklin Street. A mere ten days after the installation of a Black history monument next to the marker, the town finally did so. That the Town of Chapel Hill removed the Black history monument, which was installed during Black History Month, demonstrates that our town leaders still do not understand they have a moral obligation to honor Black history, and to unequivocally renounce and atone for white supremacy."
 
Chapel Hill Removes Markers From Franklin Street
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