Everyday, on my way to work, I have to pass Silent Sam, the statue of a Confederate soldier erected with the intention of symbolizing the 321 UNC alumni who died fighting to maintain a way of life built on the oppression and degradation of black people.

At Silent Sam's dedication, Julian Carr spoke of the Confederacy's "battles in defense of Southern liberty and Southern honor," and honored its soldiers as having "saved the very life of the Anglo Saxon race in the South." He mentioned that just 100 yards from the monument, he personally "horse-whipped a Negro wench, until her skirt hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady." These are the values for which Silent Sam stands with rifle in hand.

Is this what the UNC system represents?  Is this what we want our young people to learn.  Please take down this representation of oppression, slavery, and racism.  Stand up now.