On Monday, House Bill 927 was introduced in the N.C. General Assembly. The bill, if passed, would require the UNC-system Board of Governors to develop a plan to construct a statue of William Richardson Davie on campus.
Legislators, on behalf of the campus constituents who’d live with the statue, should say, “Thank you, but we’ll pass.”
If this bill becomes law, the Board of Governors would have to raise private funds to build the statue.
Raising money for the University is a good idea, of course. But using that money to build a redundant statue would be a mistake.
Instead, donations could be used for something infinitely more useful, like keeping professors’ salaries competitive, or providing better stipends for graduate students.
The editorial board’s lack of support for this statue does not mean that we do not have a deep appreciation for the history of this University. On the contrary, we understand that the first public university in the nation has a responsibility to honor its founders.
The decision to oppose this bill might have been different if there were not several cement-filled trees and a building already dedicated in Davie’s name.
Also, Davie’s essential contributions to this school are tinged with controversy steeped in this nation’s history of slavery. The debates that would be roused by this statue are similar to those surrounding Silent Sam and Saunders Hall, which is named after the founder of the N.C. chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
The statue would, understandably, anger many and stir controversy for little apparent benefit.
