Commission discussed the future of the sinking Unsung Founders Memorial

The University Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward discussed the sinking of the Unsung Founders Memorial at its second meeting on Tuesday. 

Discussion at the meeting largely revolved around issues of accessibility and representation with the memorial, as well as ways to prevent it from further sinking into the ground. 

Proposed plans 

Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services Anna Wu and Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Design Evan Yassky presented preliminary design options as a part of a larger project previously undertaken by the History Task Force to curate McCorkle Place. 

The Unsung Founders Memorial has been sinking into the ground due to increased water runoff and tree cover growth since the monument’s installment in 2005, Yassky said. 

Yassky proposed shifting the memorial’s location slightly closer to McCorkle Place’s pathways to improve accessibility for those with mobility impairments who might not be able to reach its current placement, and raising the memorial’s grating slightly to elevate its prominence. 

He said the task force also considered ways of highlighting the relationship between the memorial and surrounding buildings that were built by enslaved individuals. 

Yassky said the task force worked with Durham-based landscape architecture firm Surface 678 in the creation of two concepts. One potential design option proposed adding a circle of gravel or stone material around the current memorial, enclosed by sections of seating that would be potentially engraved with the names of enslaved people who built the University. 

Wu said the total costs for the proposed plans were under $300,000, which includes expenditures for relocating and regrading the structure, foundation work under the seat and text walls and an added contingency for additional unforeseen fees.

Creating a contemplative space 

Members of the commission also identified ways they hoped the conceptual designs could make the memorial a more contemplative space for visitors. 

Amy Locklear Hertel, the chancellor's chief of staff , said there is a difference between the intentions of Do-Ho Suh, the memorial’s artist, and how people actually interact with the structure.

“He intended to have people come sit on it and with it, and to talk and be a part of it, and it doesn’t suit itself to that sort of experience,” Hertel said. “And I think we're now at a place where people want to come and reflect and be more contemplative in this space.”

Seth Kotch, director of graduate studies in the Department of American Studies, said he believes the proposed plans don’t address other issues with the current memorial. For example, he noted that the memorial makes no specific reference to slavery or enslaved individuals — instead dedicated to “the people of color bond and free” who built UNC — and proposed potentially moving the structure closer to Franklin Street to increase interactions with the piece. 

Joseph Jordan, director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, said the smaller size of the memorial might also lend itself better to an indoor facility. Jordan, who was part of the committee involved in the original installment of the Unsung Founders Memorial, said it’s important to also honor the fact that the structure was a gift from the Class of 2002.

Danita Mason-Hogans serves as project coordinator for critical oral histories in the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. She and Kotch both proposed intentionally hiring individuals of African American descent to work on the construction and design of the proposed changes to the memorial.  

“The thing that I have a difficult time getting past is not to have African American hands building a monument to African Americans who were enslaved here,” Mason-Hogans said. “There’s no way I can get past that.”

Kenneth Janken, professor in the department of African, African American and Diaspora Studies, suggested one solution to addressing concerns about the Unsung Founders Memorial might be to move the piece from McCorkle Place entirely. 

“Certainly statues are not forever, we know that,” Janken said. 

The commission also took comments from the public after its initial discussion about the memorial. Kynita Stringer-Stanback, a two-time alumna of the University, said she feels "historical pessimism" about what changes the commission can make. She is a direct descendant of November Caldwell, an enslaved person "gifted" to UNC's first president, Joseph Caldwell, and his wife. 

"I'm also interested in how white supremacy, institutional and structural racism is going to be interrogated and how folks are really going to engage with their privilege on this commission," Stringer-Stanback said. 

The commission ultimately decided to come to a decision on the proposed changes to the Unsung Founders Memorial within the next two months. The commission’s next meeting will take place March 31, 2020, at which point they hope to be joined by one graduate student and two undergraduate student members.  

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