Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App
[Ads /]
Indeed, some students continue to protest UNC's Silent Sam, but the energy and momentum for change pales in comparison to the immediate aftermath of the white supremacist march on Charlottesville on August 11-12. On that fateful weekend, a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee became the focal point of a clash between neo-Nazis and counter-protesters.
On August 14, dozens of Durham activists responded on their own, ripping down a Confederate monument in front of the Durham County Courthouse.
Seven protesters face felony charges in that case.
"We are so polarized as a society today that simply tearing them down ads to polarization," NAACP Chapel Hill-Carrboro Director Anna Richards told ABC11. "This needs courage and this needs patience."
Speaking with the I-Team, Richards acknowledges the unique opportunity presented by the events in Charlottesville; while disagreeing with how the Durham statue came down, Gov. Roy Cooper quickly announced he supported moving the monuments, declaring "We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery. These monuments should come down."
[Ads /]
Duke University, as a private institution, was able to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from the famed Duke Chapel on August 19, but state law prohibits any action without the consent of the NC Historical Commission. According to Richards, there hasn't even been a formal petition yet to move Silent Sam.
CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF ALL NC CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS
"If you look at some of what brought about the biggest changes in the civil rights movement - they were not done overnight," Richards said, and she added, "and you know the pendulum does swing."
According to the North Carolina's Department of Cultural Resources, the Tar Heel State hosts 111 confederate statues and monuments, with 98 of them dedicated after 1900.
ABC11 has decided to slowly reduce the number of stories on the website that have a comments section. We believe very strongly that our audience should have an opportunity to discuss and debate events in our world, however, we have not been able to moderate the comments as well as we would like. Instead of hosting a platform that could allow a few loud and ugly voices to dominate a conversation, we want to encourage everyone to join us on our social media platforms and speak out there. Facebook: facebook.com/ABC11 Twitter: twitter.com/ABC11_WTVD