A debate begins
When Stone died of a stroke in 1991 at the age of 52, officials renamed UNC’s Black Cultural Center — at the time located in a suite in the Student Union — in honor of Stone.
Shortly after, students associated with the center and the Black Student Movement pushed for a freestanding black cultural center.
Debate about a freestanding center intensified when former Chancellor Paul Hardin, who supported an expanded cultural center in the Union rather than a freestanding one, remarked in March 1992 that a cultural center should be “a forum and not a fortress.”
Hardin later explained his reasons for opposing a freestanding center, including the lack of available funding, his own self-described conservative attitude toward new buildings and his desire for all minorities to feel comfortable.
But his comment attracted national media attention and resulted in student-led protests, marches, sit-ins and subsequent arrests.
Joseph Jordan, director of the Stone Center, acknowledged the students who began the fight for a freestanding center during his opening remarks.
“Today, this is much their day as it is anyone else’s,” he said.
Stone’s son, Robert B. Stone-El, Jr., also paid tribute to those students and others at UNC who made the freestanding center possible.
“I call this University great, not because of its size or because of the beautiful campus, but because of the people who are here and make it great,” he said.
The search for funds
Hardin eventually threw his support behind a freestanding center, but fund-raising efforts struggled to meet the $9 million needed to build the facility.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
To raise money, students sponsored benefit concerts and led community walks.
In 1997-98, students made a pledge to raise $20,000, while members of the UNC Board of Trustees promised a five-to-one match from their own pockets if students met that goal. They succeeded, and the trustees made their match.
Then in 1999, the University received a $29 million gift from an alumnus. Former Chancellor Michael Hooker decided to use part of the gift to complete the fund-raising campaign.
Moeser acknowledged Hooker in his address, as well as the efforts of students, faculty, staff and members of the University community who helped make the center a reality.
“The struggle to build this building was a crucible of commitment,” he said.
Broad echoed Moeser’s comments on the hard work and dedication that went in to establishing a freestanding center on campus.
“The hope and dreams of so many are embodied in this place,” she said. “It is a culmination of years of dogged persistence in a belief and vision.”
BSM President Erin Davis also talked about the struggle for a standalone center. She said that the movement was led mostly by students who took pride in their heritage and who demanded that the University do the same, generating loud applause from the crowd.
Making an impact
Richard “Stick” Williams, chairman of BOT, spoke about the impact the center will have on the University and the surrounding community.
“This place is open to everyone — all races and creeds, all schools and departments,” he said. “If done right, this center can be quite a gathering place for folks across campus and the community.”
Foy also commented on his desire for the center to be accessible to all people, regardless of their background or where they live.
“It’s my hope that the center will not be confined to this University, but that it will look outward to this town, to this state and to this nation,” he said.
Student Body President Matt Calabria also addressed the crowd, commenting that the candlelight vigil made him realize how special the center is to the University.
“It wasn’t until last night that I got it,” he said. “It’s hard for students right now to truly understand just how the Stone Center was developed and the struggle for it to come about. But last night I really felt what it means to be here.”
‘It’s finally here’
After the ceremony, visitors took a tour of the 44,500-square-foot facility that features a 360-seat cylinder-shaped theater in the form of an African drum.
The facility also includes a 10,000-volume library, art gallery, dance studio and a multipurpose room in addition to classrooms, seminar rooms and a computer lab.
Offices will house the center staff, visiting scholars, the Institute of African American Research and Upward Bound.
Moeser invited the crowd to explore the building, in the same way he envisions people from the community and the state doing in the coming years.
“I see North Carolina children visiting this building, just like they do at Morehead Planetarium,” he said.
During the year, the center will offer a variety of programs, including lectures, concerts, workshops and discussion groups.
Senior Michelle Greene, who worked with the Stone Center when it was located in the Union, said she is glad the center finally has a true home. “You just get the feeling that it’s finally here,” she said.
With the beige walls of the Stone Center behind her, Broad looked into the crowd and spoke about the significance of the day’s events.
“We mark an important milestone in what has been a very long journey,” she said.
“Today is also a fresh start for a future that is full of great potential.”
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
