CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The controversial “Silent Sam” statue on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has been toppled by protesters.
A statement about the Confederate Monument at UNC-Chapel Hill pic.twitter.com/7D45yiAAeb
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) August 21, 2018
WRAL-TV reports that more than 300 people gathered at the Peace and Justice Plaza at about 7:30 on Monday evening before marching to the Confederate statue’s base and calling for its removal. At 9 p.m., protesters had marched down Franklin Street before returning back to the statue’s base. By 9:30 “Silent Sam” was down.
There were some tense moments between police and protesters. One person was arrested and charged with concealing one’s face during a public rally and resisting arrest.
Protestors at UNC Chapel Hill just tore down Silent Sam, a statue of a confederate soldier.
The 2018-2019 school year has officially begun. pic.twitter.com/4q8LSPTbCa
— Millennial Politics (@MillenPolitics) August 21, 2018
Students, faculty and alumni have called the statue a racist image and asked officials to remove it.
As an alumna and life long resident of Chapel Hill, I am thrilled to see this statue and its stain on our community toppled. I only wish it had been done years ago and by an official University action in solidarity with students of color and the fight for racial justice.
— lindsay griffin (@lgriffin78) August 21, 2018
The statue was given to the university by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909. It was erected in 1913.
Silent Sam, a memorial to the Confederate alumni of The University of North Carolina, has been torn down.#SilentSam was a prominent figure on UNC’s quad.
This is going to cause a major uproar in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/r4HVZAZ7CA
— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) August 21, 2018
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