Group praises decision to eliminate Bell Award

Correction
Due to a reporting error, the Feb. 14 article “Group praises decision to eliminate Bell Award” states that Chancellor James Moeser has formed a committee to examine issues relating to the former Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award. He actually has called for the formation of two groups — one to examine guidelines for historical names on buildings and one to look at a possible successor to the Bell Award.

Calling for a representative task force to foster campuswide discussions about the University’s controversial past, the Campaign for Historical Accuracy and Truth submitted a petition to Chancellor James Moeser on Thursday.

A task force to study how the University’s history relates to today must be created so that UNC is mindful of its history as it moves into the future, proponents of the change said.

“We just felt we needed to let the chancellor know that those of us concerned with these issues are still here,” said Yonni Chapman, a graduate student who was a leading force in the Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award controversy.

These issues were also of pressing concern at the Faculty Council meeting Friday. Moeser voiced his intention to create a task force to decide how to properly honor the Spencer, Love and Phillips families, who have made consistent contributions to the University for seven generations.

“Our own history is a great story,” Moeser told the council.

The committee also will develop guidelines to govern how to treat people who have been historically ingrained in the campus but also could be the object of controversy.

As the nation’s first public university, history is visible in the names of the buildings and memorial statues scattered throughout UNC’s campus. The majority of these buildings were constructed by black slaves.

Today, there are few testaments to their contributions.

“I think the University has a very whitewashed history,” said David Brannigan, member of the campaign and groundskeeper at UNC.

Moeser highlighted the importance of the University being honest with its past by proposing the creation of an online virtual museum of UNC’s history. The site would offer candid information about all of the campus’s historical figures.

“We want to be honest about it,” Moeser said.

Members of the campaign said it is important for the University to acknowledge its past before it can successfully move into the future.

In the petition, the group praised Moeser’s decision to retire the Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award.

“When you walk around campus, it looks like the only people who did anything important were white men and, as it turns out, a lot of those white men were slave owners or were involved in white supremacy campaigns,” Chapman said. “The University needs to face up to that and acknowledge it.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.