U NC has a troubled past. Actually, that puts it too lightly. UNC has a history of centuries of oppression, exploitation, slavery and bigotry.
This history presents itself in the names of places like Saunders Hall, named after the man who started the Ku Klux Klan in the state, and Cameron Avenue , named after the state’s largest antebellum slaveholder. These once-revered men find themselves at the center of a controversy over whether or not the University perpetuates bigotry by allowing these names to stay.
Some students are taking action to change the name of Saunders Hall, but a plethora of other buildings will continue to bear the names of bigots even if Saunders is changed. This may not be as bad as it seems.
The KKK has lost its battle for a monochromatic country. People like Saunders seem more and more like Ozymandias , the king who bragged about his powers only to fade into irrelevance as time marched forward. This once-lauded colonel and trustee of the University is now maligned. Do not look on Saunders Hall and despair, look on it and see how far the University has come and how far it can go. The same powers that oppress today are shamed in the future.
Saunders would roll over in his grave if he knew people of all races work and study together in the building named after him. He would most likely rather his name not be on a building that holds women’s and gender studies recitations.
The names also preserve Carolina’s past. It is a legitimate worry that students might forget the history these names succinctly tell. Would any students know who Saunders was if the building was not named after him? The ramifications of Carolina’s history are lived today, and it would be tragic if people overlooked that.
Cameron Morrison , namesake of the South Campus dorm, began his political career by supporting racist Gov. Charles Aycock and white supremacy. By his stint as North Carolina’s governor in the early 1920s, his views changed. He helped start the North Carolina Commission on Interracial Cooperation and claimed to have ended lynching.
People can change, institutions can change and even the formerly male-only dorm can change. Carolina has never been perfect and is nowhere near perfect now. Morrison exemplifies the dual forces of progress and memory.
It is impossible to absolve the past sins of racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry. Names like Aycock, Saunders, Cameron and Hamilton are likely here to stay. The best way to overcome their legacy of bigotry is to ensure the safety of our students and provide every one a space to voice their opinion. The names on the buildings mean far less than the people inside of them.
