TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding the bill in the N.C. House that requires the UNC System BOG to devise a plan for a statue of William R. Davie with private funding on UNC’s campus, the DTH got it right with its recent editorial that the last thing we need is another statue to a dead white slave owner to further fan the flames of political correctness in the face of those who cannot see the forest of history for the trees.
It would seem more logical to enhance the living memorial to Davie that we already have in a very prominent spot on campus. I refer to the Davie Poplar, the living landmark that witnessed the founding of the University and has been silently standing watch on campus ever since.
Sadly, Davie is not getting any younger. It could be getting close to toppling over at any moment. When it happens, Facility Services will saw up the trunk as fast as possible and cart it off to the University woodpile.
Has anybody thought about a replacement for that marvelous 250-year-old trunk that stands on an axis running from Silent Sam through the Old Well all the way to the Bell Tower? When this venerable landmark goes, it will leave a vacuum that neither Davie Poplar Jr. nor the Bicentennial D. Poplar can fill. Yes, we will have the living presence of the tree, but the shadow of history from this magnificent trunk will be gone forever.
So instead of putting up another statue, why not replace the original Davie trunk with a cast bronze replica? It could stand in a newly designed plaza in the original spot surrounded by names of donors. All that’s necessary is to have a casting of the trunk made while it is still standing. Fundraising could begin anytime, but we would have the critical component — the casting or images taken from life.
A project like this would surely memorialize Davie in a way that would preserve the beauty of historic McCorkle Place in a manner that recalls Davie’s love for the spot and his significance to the University.
F. Marion Redd ’67
