Forgetting the founders causes frustration

A debate erupted over the weekend on a popular UNC Facebook page, Overheard at UNC, about the functionality of a monument on campus — the Unsung Founders Memorial, which was built to honor the men and women of color who helped build the University.

“I don’t think you can deny the hostility and the latent racial undertones that characterize the whole controversy of the monument,” said Shelby Dawkins-Law, a Ph.D. student in the School of Education and former president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation.

Dawkins-Law posted on Overheard at UNC to bring attention to people misusing the monument. She said there is a difference between contemplating the memorial and using it as merely a bench.

“I’m glad that there was backlash because it proves that there is a problem,” Dawkins-Law said. “It proves that there is a lot of anger and animosity and really tense feelings on both sides.”

Thomas Bythell, an arborist at UNC, said he worked closely with artist Do-Ho Suh and believes the piece was intended to be interactive.

“He wanted it to be a resting place,” Bythell said.

Bythell also posted on the Overheard at UNC page, in defense of the functionality of the monument.

“I think (the monument) signifies that the foundation of this University was built by the people it was intended to honor,” he said. “And nothing is as strong as its foundation.”

Suh also has artwork on display at the Ackland Art Museum. The piece, titled Floor, features plastic figurines holding up a sheet of glass on which visitors can walk, the Ackland’s Public Programs Manager Allison Portnow said.

“He wanted people to really think about what it meant to be supported by these figures at the same time as something is pressing them down,” Portnow said.

She said she believes the memorial evokes different reactions among students and visitors of different backgrounds.

“You can’t possibly understand the issue for what it really is when you don’t have that experience of being marginalized on this campus,” said Dawkins-Law.

Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the memorial has been debated since its installation. He said dialogue about how the memorial should be used is healthy.

“I do not think it is a simple up or down sort of question,” he said.

Crisp is a co-chairperson on the Task Force on UNC-Chapel Hill History, and he said the task force will certainly consider the Unsung Founders Memorial.

Dawkins-Law said changing the landscape to make the memorial more prominent might be a solution.

“The same way I wouldn’t want someone to put their feet on the figurines is the same way that somebody else wouldn’t want someone putting their feet on the face of Silent Sam,” Dawkins-Law said. “The difference is I can do that to the Unsung Founders Memorial, but someone can’t do that to Silent Sam.”

university@dailytarheel.com