There have been several articles recently regarding "Silent Sam" on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and the movement known as "Black Lives Matter." I wrote the following entry 4 years ago, in November of 2011:
In yesterday's News & Observer, an article about "Silent Sam," the Confederate monument on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, describes a protest that took place there (see UNC's Confederate statue draws new protests, Sep 2, 2011: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/02/1454360/sam-is-silent-his-detractors-arent.html). In early August, another Confederate monument, this one located in Reidsville, was in the news (see Rebel monument loses its place, Aug 8, 2011:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/11/1404663/rebel-monument-loses-its-place.html). A search on the N&O's website pulls other articles and opinion letters regarding these monuments and celebrations or protests of North Carolina's Confederate heritage and continuing adherence to some of the myths fabricated in the decades following the Civil War as well as the actual events and beliefs held at that time. Here are quotes from an opinion letter of 2009 and from an article written in 2006. The letter I agree with; the quote from the article, I do not.
“'Silent Sam' does not depict a general astride a horse brandishing a saber high above his head, rallying his troops to attack the foe; rather, that of a common man, a UNC student or alumnus, with his blanket roll and musket trying to obey his obligations, as he saw them, to his native state. It does not undertake to pass moral judgment on the conflict; rather, it seeks to honor his sense of duty and his willingness to lay his life on the line for a larger cause, right or wrong. The perspective of society today on the actions of men almost 150 years ago is bound to be different from that in their time. To suggest that our perspective must wipe out what was valid then is to negate the very reality of our own history. Better to address ourselves to the injustices of our own time and in our own place than to obliterate the contradictions in our shared experience here in Chapel Hill."
- opinion letter by Eunice M. Brock and Samuel H. Magill, from Unsung Founders Memorial - what do you think?, N&O, Nov.22, 2009, : http://blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat/ unsung-founders-memorial-what-do-you-think#storylink=misearch#ixzz1WviI3XDS
"Clyde Wilson, a history professor at the University of South Carolina, made it clear that honoring the Confederate soldier is indelibly linked to vindicating the cause of the Confederacy itself. 'If we allowed the cause that the Confederate soldier fought for to be condemned, it would be impossible to defend their good name,' Wilson said. 'You all know there's a vicious campaign against all things Southern. It's not really the flag they hate, it's not really the Confederacy -- it's us, it's the South.'"
- from Ceremony salutes flag and its cause, N&O, Mar.5, 2006:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/03/05/58889/ceremony-salutes-flag-and-its.html#ixzz1WvnU3FZe
As I've said before, if North Carolinians really knew the actual history of this state in regards to secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, it would provide a source of pride for all of us in this state: white, black, pro-Confederate, pro-Union, a pride much greater and more genuine because it would reflect the truth of our state's diverse stance in all of those events, and yes, including pride in the history of those who wholeheartedly supported the Confederacy. The letter by Brock and Magill captures some of this while Wilson totally misses the mark, and his misguided comments are unfortunately ones that sadly hold a disproportionate amount of support from those who do not know any better. The attack is not on the South or "all things Southern." The attack is against ignorance. Everyone in the South can have pride in their past, but let's not pretend that all North Carolinians were united in some "solid South" or defending "states' rights." It was what it was. Find out for yourself what it was, and then, armed with knowledge, be proud, be ashamed, whatever, but most of all, be enlightened, and be determined to do better in the future.
In yesterday's News & Observer, an article about "Silent Sam," the Confederate monument on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, describes a protest that took place there (see UNC's Confederate statue draws new protests, Sep 2, 2011: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/02/1454360/sam-is-silent-his-detractors-arent.html). In early August, another Confederate monument, this one located in Reidsville, was in the news (see Rebel monument loses its place, Aug 8, 2011:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/11/1404663/rebel-monument-loses-its-place.html). A search on the N&O's website pulls other articles and opinion letters regarding these monuments and celebrations or protests of North Carolina's Confederate heritage and continuing adherence to some of the myths fabricated in the decades following the Civil War as well as the actual events and beliefs held at that time. Here are quotes from an opinion letter of 2009 and from an article written in 2006. The letter I agree with; the quote from the article, I do not.
“'Silent Sam' does not depict a general astride a horse brandishing a saber high above his head, rallying his troops to attack the foe; rather, that of a common man, a UNC student or alumnus, with his blanket roll and musket trying to obey his obligations, as he saw them, to his native state. It does not undertake to pass moral judgment on the conflict; rather, it seeks to honor his sense of duty and his willingness to lay his life on the line for a larger cause, right or wrong. The perspective of society today on the actions of men almost 150 years ago is bound to be different from that in their time. To suggest that our perspective must wipe out what was valid then is to negate the very reality of our own history. Better to address ourselves to the injustices of our own time and in our own place than to obliterate the contradictions in our shared experience here in Chapel Hill."
- opinion letter by Eunice M. Brock and Samuel H. Magill, from Unsung Founders Memorial - what do you think?, N&O, Nov.22, 2009, : http://blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat/ unsung-founders-memorial-what-do-you-think#storylink=misearch#ixzz1WviI3XDS
"Clyde Wilson, a history professor at the University of South Carolina, made it clear that honoring the Confederate soldier is indelibly linked to vindicating the cause of the Confederacy itself. 'If we allowed the cause that the Confederate soldier fought for to be condemned, it would be impossible to defend their good name,' Wilson said. 'You all know there's a vicious campaign against all things Southern. It's not really the flag they hate, it's not really the Confederacy -- it's us, it's the South.'"
- from Ceremony salutes flag and its cause, N&O, Mar.5, 2006:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/03/05/58889/ceremony-salutes-flag-and-its.html#ixzz1WvnU3FZe
As I've said before, if North Carolinians really knew the actual history of this state in regards to secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, it would provide a source of pride for all of us in this state: white, black, pro-Confederate, pro-Union, a pride much greater and more genuine because it would reflect the truth of our state's diverse stance in all of those events, and yes, including pride in the history of those who wholeheartedly supported the Confederacy. The letter by Brock and Magill captures some of this while Wilson totally misses the mark, and his misguided comments are unfortunately ones that sadly hold a disproportionate amount of support from those who do not know any better. The attack is not on the South or "all things Southern." The attack is against ignorance. Everyone in the South can have pride in their past, but let's not pretend that all North Carolinians were united in some "solid South" or defending "states' rights." It was what it was. Find out for yourself what it was, and then, armed with knowledge, be proud, be ashamed, whatever, but most of all, be enlightened, and be determined to do better in the future.