UNC Board of Governors Member Says ‘Silent Sam Will Be Reinstalled’

While UNC Chancellor Carol Folt has dodged questions about what will happen with the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam since being toppled by protesters Monday night, one member of the Board of Governors is vowing the statue will be return to its prominent place on UNC campus.

In a tweet accompanied by a YouTube video, Thom Goolsby said “Silent Sam will be reinstalled as required by state law within ninety days.”

Goolsby is referring to a 2015 law that says “objects of remembrance” on public property cannot be permanently removed except in specific circumstances. A provision of that law says “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.” (Silent Sam, which was unveiled in 1913 with a not-so-subtly racist dedication speech, has been hauled away to an undisclosed location. It’s stone base remains on campus).

Goolsby is just one of twenty-eight voting members on the board, but he’s not the only one to express dismay about how the statue came down. In a joint statement Tuesday Board of Governors Chair Harry Smith and UNC System President Margaret Spellings called the action “unacceptable, dangerous, and incomprehensible.” (Politicians have released similar statements this week).

UNC police issued arrest warrants Friday for three people in connection with the toppling of the monument. UNC leaders asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate Monday’s events, saying “we do not support lawlessness, and we will use the full breadth of state and University processes to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.”

Amid all this, the university says it’s “preparing for a possible rally” around the monument on Saturday.

“We do not know for sure what groups may attend, but we are mindful that the current atmosphere is highly charged, and protests that begin peacefully do not always remain that way,” a statement from UNC this afternoon reads. “For this reason, we urge you not to attend. For those who do attend, please know that we will do all we can to protect and keep everyone safe.”

In a Facebook live video, the leader of Appalachian Oath Keepers called on members of the far-right militia group to travel to Chapel Hill for a gathering Saturday.