UNC Black Congress hosts town hall to discuss future of Silent Sam

Pro-Black student activism organization UNC Black Congress collaborated Monday with UNC Student Government's Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Outreach Committee (MADO) to hold a town hall on the future of Silent Sam. 

This town hall, which took place in the Student Union Auditorium, was created to encourage more students to voice their opinions about the situation surrounding Silent Sam and to propose ideas for relocation.

The town hall was organized into segments, which Black Congress said were designed "to have a much-needed and productive conversation" surrounding Silent Sam. First, members of Black Congress and MADO gave testimonies to the history of Silent Sam and their personal experiences surrounding the monument.

“We had cops pepper spray us. You can see from pictures that they were highly militarized,” said Angum Check, UNC junior and co-chairperson of Black Congress. “We have been the ones who have received death threats. Student safety has not been something that has been a priority for this University.”

In her testimony, first-year De’Ivyion Drew said she never wanted to look up at a figure that represented her destruction and was determined to avoid the part of campus where Silent Sam stood.

The organizers then took the time to hear what the attendees of the town hall had to say by allowing them to answer a series of anonymous poll questions. Some questions gave students the opportunity to propose ideas for the future of the monument, including relocation or destruction, while others focused on the emotional and systemic side of the issue. 

One notable poll question asked: How would the resurrection of Silent Sam affect your experience on campus and your trust in the UNC administration?

This question garnered multiple responses, but most answers were centered around extreme fear and increased distrust in the University's administration. One anonymous student said they would be afraid to leave their house because of the “Confederate celebration that would occur if it was resurrected.”

“We live in a very racist state, we do, and we have a state that wants us to recognize what power structures have been pivotal in creating the state," said Buka Ibeziako, a board member of Black Congress. "Those power structures stemmed from the Confederacy and continue to stem from the Confederacy."

UNC graduate student Maya Little, who threw red paint containing some of her own blood on the statue in April, spoke out regarding the treatment of Black students by the University and her experiences with harassment. 

Little said the University does not care about Black people, and that it profits off of these students while refusing to address issues which put the safety of Blacks at risk.

“At UNC, they can put our faces on a poster to garner them money for the B-School, to invite people like Tucker Carlson here, but they can’t take down statues that are dedicated by people who wouldn’t have wanted us here,” Little said.

The town hall ended with Check encouraging the audience to get out and vote on Nov. 6. On Nov. 8, Black Congress will be hosting activism training pertaining to organizing and non-violent civil disobedience, which Check encouraged all to attend. If the University returns Silent Sam to its original location on McCorkle Place, which Check considers a "real chance," she encourages students to participate in non-violent student activism.

@JordynW6

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