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'An iota of peace:' UNC honors James Cates with permanent memorial

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Attendees lay flowers at the memorial for James Lewis Cates, Jr., which was dedicated in The Pit on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.

Community members gathered in the Pit last week to pay their respects to James Lewis Cates Jr. and see his life finally memorialized on campus.

Cates, a 22-year-old Black Chapel Hill resident, was murdered outside the Student Union in November of 1970 by members of a white supremacist motorcycle gang after an all-night dance marathon. The event was held to promote integration at the University.

Following a proposal in June 2021 to name the UNC Student Stores after Cates, the University announced a permanent memorial for Cates on Aug. 12. 

The proposal was signed by members of the James Cates Remembrance Coalition, as well as community organizations and individuals. 

The placement of the memorial, a stand-alone plaque on the edge of the Pit, had to be approved by the UNC Board of Trustees.

At the memorial, some of the speakers included Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, Black Student Movement President Julia Clark, Student Body President Taliajah "Teddy" Vann and U.S. Congresswoman-Elect and Cates' family member Valerie Foushee.

The Voices of Praise Gospel Choir sang throughout the event, including at the end of the memorial when Guskiewicz invited Cates’ family to join him in laying flowers by the plaque. 

The Pit was crowded with students, faculty and local residents watching the memorial dedication.

Sidney Curtis, a sophomore at UNC, said she heard about the event through an Instagram post. 

“I made a point to kind of frame my day around it,” she said. 

Chigozirim Nwogu, a senior at UNC, said he did not know about the ceremony until he happened to walk by the Pit. 

“I just decided to stop by and just see what was happening,” he said. 

Curtis said that she really enjoyed the speeches of both Clark and Vann.

“You can tell that they had a lot of time spent with the community and figuring out their wishes and the family's wishes,” Curtis said. 

Vann said giving the family peace was a crucial goal of the memorial.

“The most important thing to me today was being able to honor the memory of James Lewis Cates, Jr. and to bring his family an iota of peace,” Vann said. 

By contrast to the student speakers, Curtis said that she felt disappointed in the speeches of Hemminger and BOT Chairperson David Boliek. 

“It didn't feel like it was really something (the BOT) cared about, more of like a press thing for them,” she said. 

Nwogu echoed this disappointment. 

Specifically, he said the way Guskiewicz ended his speech by tying it back to the University felt “tone-deaf.” 

“I felt like that was a way for him to kind of save face,” Nwogu said.

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Curtis said that she feels the BOT actions oftentimes reflect their own interests instead of student or community interests.

“This situation reflects many situations that students have spoken about and the Board of Trustees' lack of consideration and care for the student body, their wishes and the colored paths that UNC has as one of the first public schools in America,” she said. 

Vann said the memorial is a meaningful and necessary step, but it’s difficult to say what exactly will come next. 

“But I'm so glad that something's coming next, that we can stop talking about the exact same thing we've been discussing for 52 years straight,” she said. 

Vann said that, in past years, the anniversary of Cates’ death has only been marked by a couple of chairs, a few students and some flowers. 

“It was really incredible to truly see how much our community cares, to see how many people chose to come out for this today, when it's normally just a handful of folks and his family that come out every year,” she said at the dedication. 

Some attendees felt it took the University too long to create and dedicate this permanent memorial and properly acknowledge Cates’ death. 

“Why does it take so much pressure applied from student leaders on campus for UNC to do things like this?” Nwogu said. 

Negest Kinte, a community member in attendance, was glad that the University installed the memorial but echoes sentiments about the timeline. 

“I hate that it took them so long,” Kinte said. 

Leah Cox, the vice provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at UNC, said she wished it could have happened sooner, but the dedication of a permanent memorial for Cates is a move in the right direction. 

“Obviously, there's a feeling that we need to do all the right things, and we're getting there,” Cox said. 


@natvarma

university@dailytarheel.com