As a resident of Chapel Hill, it’s easy for me to forget the realities of living in the South. The town is very much an ideological bubble, a place where liberal ideas and stories like that of Silent Sam’s fall can take place.
Despite the progressive nature of our community, the state of North Carolina as a whole is not as forward-thinking regarding how Confederate monuments should be dealt with, according to a new poll by Elon University.
The poll asked 1,500 North Carolinians a series of questions about the monuments, including whether or not they should be removed from public property. The poll found that 65 percent of respondents believe Confederate statues should remain, with just 35 percent saying they should be moved.
The majority suggests that, despite a growing movement to remove and relocate these statues that has fueled relocations in Pittsboro and other towns, most North Carolinians continue to support the presence of these monuments.
The topic of Confederate monument removal is nothing new in our community. Silent Sam, the statue depicting a Confederate soldier, was toppled in protest in August of 2018 and subsequently removed from its location on the University of North Carolina’s campus. The charge to remove the monument was largely supported by students and residents alike, as many saw the statue as a symbol of oppression.
That’s why I was a little surprised at first to learn how large the majority is of those who support leaving the statues where they are, but it makes sense: North Carolina is very much a purple state, and, for every progressive town like Chapel Hill and Durham, there are rural communities that hold conservative beliefs. This political divide is evident in the poll’s findings, with 91 percent of Republicans in favor of keeping the statues in place compared to just 37 percent of Democrats.
After all, the statues represent an important part of Southern history, albeit a very dark, discriminatory period. For that reason, it’s necessary that they be removed from public spaces. After all, the statues are a reminder of centuries of oppression and slavery that took place in the country, forces that have no place in our community spaces today.
I feel that the best course of action would be to move these monuments into history museums so that they may best serve their purpose in a modern context. There, they would be able to commemorate the soldiers who gave their lives for the war and be separated from any association with the communities in which they are located. It also satisfies the argument that many of those in favor of keeping the statues have by preserving the historical events surrounding the monuments. The events of the Civil War should still be remembered, and there would be no better way to preserve the history of that period than by having museums dedicated to such a purpose.
For now, it seems that the majority of North Carolinians feel the statues should remain in place, but every monument’s context is different. It would seem that some communities are more tolerant of leaving their monuments in place, while others—like our own—see them as reminders of a dark past.
This is why I think each town needs to take it upon themselves to really consider where their values lie. If they feel that preserving a statue’s place in public is more important than making all residents of their community welcome, that’s on them.
