TO THE EDITOR:
I was disappointed to read your unfair characterization of the work of the Center for Civil Rights as “partisan advocacy” in the subhead of Monday’s story, “Civil rights center on the block: The center is unapologetic about its partisan advocacy efforts across the state.”
By uncritically adopting the language of UNC Board of Governors member Steven Long, who said advocacy efforts are inherently partisan, The Daily Tar Heel does a disservice to the work of the center staff and to the University community.
The center’s legacy of advocacy for poor and marginalized communities across the state reflects the vital mission of this “university of the people” to benefit all North Carolinians.
That members of the Board of Governors condemn the center’s advocacy in their inquisitorial review indicts not the center’s fidelity to the University’s mission but their own. Prior to his appointment, Long sat on the Board of Directors for Civitas Action, a conservative advocacy group he incorporated “for the purpose of promoting the social welfare of the people of North Carolina,” which spent over $200,000 on ads opposing Democratic state legislators in 2010. His belief that advocacy is “inherently partisan” is unsurprising.
The UNC Board of Governors has allowed a partisan agenda to eclipse its responsibility to the people of North Carolina in dismantling this university of the people. The Daily Tar Heel should join all North Carolinians who believe in the public mission of the University in holding them accountable.
Tim Longest
