Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT

The Rise and Fall of Silent Sam

Before protesters toppled it, the controversial statue of a Confederate soldier known as Silent Sam had stood on the campus of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.
Before protesters toppled it, the controversial statue of a Confederate soldier known as Silent Sam had stood on the campus of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.

Silent Sam, an eight-foot-tall commemorative statue of a Confederate soldier, dominated the main entrance of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.

Despite decades of protests, the monument remained, backed by conservative alumni and state legislators, a wary administration, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in security.

But then, suddenly, on the day before fall classes were to start in August 2018, the statue was yanked off its nine-foot-high pedestal by protesters. And in January 2019 the campus’s chancellor, Carol L. Folt, removed the statue’s pedestal and other remnants, and then resigned. Here’s how Silent Sam moved from dominance to disappearance, in reports by The Chronicle.

The Confederate statue known as Silent Sam at the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was yanked down by protesters in 2018. Under a new ruling by a state judge, the Sons of Confederate Veterans will no longer get the statue.
The Shadow of the Past
UNC’s Silent Sam Settlement Sparked a Backlash. Now a Judge Has Overturned the Deal.
By Francie Diep
The Sons of Confederate Veterans will no longer get the statue, nor the $2.5 million that came with it.
Before protesters toppled it, the controversial statue of a Confederate soldier known as Silent Sam had stood on the campus of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.
Leadership
UNC’s Silent Sam Settlement Was Reached Quickly. The Blowback Might Last Longer.
By Michael Vasquez
As the Sons of Confederate Veterans celebrate gaining ownership of the monument, many faculty and students are puzzling over why the university system’s governing board was so willing to make a deal.
Silent Sam stood in Chapel Hill’s McCorkle Place for more than a century before it was pulled down by protesters in 2018.
News
UNC Will Give Silent Sam to a Confederate Group — Along With a $2.5-Million Trust
By Brock Read
The university system has ensured that the divisive Confederate monument won’t return to its Chapel Hill campus. But its method of doing so is “insane,” said one professor.
Carol Folt, chancellor of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said she was “disappointed” that the university system’s Board of Governors had voted to accept her resignation months before she planned to step down.
Where Folt Came From
UNC’s Chancellor Was Criticized as a Consensus Builder. How She Departed May Have Changed Everything.
By Sarah Brown
Folt’s decision to remove Silent Sam’s pedestal as she announced her resignation in January won plaudits from some on campus, but she may have worsened the challenges her successor will face.
Carol L. Folt, chancellor of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
News
UNC Chancellor Steps Down and Orders the Removal of Silent Sam’s Remains
By Andy Thomason, Steven Johnson
The dual announcements apparently came as a surprise to the system’s governing board. Its chair said Carol Folt’s move “undermines and insults the board’s goal to operate with class and dignity.”
After protesters tore down Silent Sam, the Confederate statue at the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, administrators began crafting a plan for what to do with the monument. The system’s governing board on Friday rejected the flagship’s plan to build a $5.3-million campus history center to house Silent Sam.
News
North Carolina Board Rejects Chapel Hill’s Controversial Plan for Silent Sam
By Steven Johnson
The systemwide board said it could not support the plan, which calls for a $5.3-million campus center to house the Confederate statue.
Carol L. Folt, chancellor of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in a 2018 speech apologized for the university’s role in slavery.
From the Archives
Should Carol Folt Dare Her Boss to Fire Her?
By Jack Stripling
Chapel Hill’s chancellor could signal moral clarity by refusing to display a Confederate monument on the campus. But some fear that would guarantee her dismissal, making a tense situation worse.
In a rare move, graduate-student activists who teach at the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are withholding undergraduates’ final grades unless the university meets their demands on plans for the future of a Confederate monument known as Silent Sam.
Campus Symbols
Silent Sam Protesters at Chapel Hill Embrace a New Tactic: a ‘Grade Strike’
By Steven Johnson
Teaching assistants at the University of North Carolina’s flagship are threatening to withhold thousands of student grades unless the administration withdraws its plan to keep the Confederate statue on the campus.
Silent Sam, the Confederate statue on the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus, before it was toppled by protesters. The university plans to construct a new campus building to house the statue, but as an object of study, not veneration.
Campus Symbols
Chapel Hill Finally Has a Plan for Its Confederate Monument. Professors Lament the Price Tag.
By Vimal Patel
The University of North Carolina’s flagship campus wants to shift Silent Sam from an object of veneration to an object of study. But critics say it should simply not be on the campus any longer.
Before protesters toppled it, the controversial statue of a Confederate soldier known as Silent Sam had stood on the campus of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.
Backgrounder
2 Days on the Hunt for Silent Sam
By Vimal Patel
Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are expected Monday to plot the future for the toppled Confederate monument. Its whereabouts are a secret. Can the statue come back into public view?
After the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Silent Sam statue was toppled, only its nine-foot-high pedestal remained.
News
UNC’s Chancellor Is a Consensus Builder. Silent Sam Is Her Greatest Test.
By Vimal Patel
With a decision on the fate of the Confederate statue due by November 15, Carol Folt faces an intractable question: What is a consensus builder to do when it doesn’t appear there’s a consensus to be had?
"Silent Sam," a bronze Confederate soldier, has stood at the main entrance to the Chapel Hill campus of the U. of North Carolina since 1913. Now protesters gather there almost every day to remind passers-by of its symbolism.
From the Archives
Chapel Hill’s New Civil War
By Vimal Patel
A monument to the Confederacy known as Silent Sam stands at the main entrance of the University of North Carolina. It’s ripping the campus apart. So what’s keeping it there?
After the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Silent Sam statue was toppled, only its nine-foot-high pedestal remained.
Campus Unrest
Silent Sam Was Toppled. Yet He Still Looms Over Campus.
By Vimal Patel
As powerful supporters want the statue to be restored, student activists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argue that it should never return.
Protesters scuffle with the police during a rally on the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus.
Campus Unrest
Counterprotesters Far Outnumber Supporters as Rally to Restore UNC’s Toppled Confederate Statue Fizzles
By Vimal Patel
Police officers arrested seven people at Saturday’s demonstration, where public support on campus for restoring Silent Sam appeared to collapse.
Demonstrators and spectators gather around Silent Sam, the Confederate state toppled Monday at the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Leadership
Silent Sam No Longer Stands. But the Saga of UNC’s Confederate Statue Is Far From Over.
By Sarah Brown, Vimal Patel
Activists and many faculty members cheered its stunning fall on Monday. But the question of what to do about it is as urgent, and complicated, as ever.
Before protesters toppled it, the controversial statue of a Confederate soldier known as Silent Sam had stood on the campus of the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century.
News
Protesters Tear Down Chapel Hill’s Divisive Confederate Monument
By Andy Thomason
The statue’s presence on the North Carolina campus had been the focus of increased activism since last August’s white-supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va.
In August 2017, protests over the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s statue known as Silent Sam were rekindled. As they persisted, the strain also grew on historians who were called on to consult about the monument’s significance.
News
For Historians, the Business of Studying Monuments Like UNC’s Silent Sam Takes a Toll
By Emma Pettit
On campuses with reminders of bigotry, scholars have tried to do their jobs while a righteous present clashes with a racist past. To some, Monday’s toppling of a Chapel Hill statue felt like relief.
Maya Little, a doctoral student at the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on coating a Confederate monument in blood and red ink: "I didn’t do anything that was violent. I was adding context to the statue."
Campus Culture
Why a Protester at Chapel Hill Doused a Confederate Monument in Red Ink and Blood
By Vimal Patel
Maya Little, a doctoral student in history at the University of North Carolina, says she wanted to make other people see the statue as she does, crimsoned with the blood of black bodies.
A statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee was defaced overnight Thursday at Duke U. Monuments on college campuses depicting Confederate figures are facing fresh scrutiny after white supremacists descended last weekend on Charlottesville, Va., ostensibly to protest the planned removal of a statue of Lee there.
Administration
As Support Grows for Ditching Confederate Statues, Colleges Weigh Their Options
By Adam Harris
Institutions face smoldering tensions in the wake of the deadly rioting in Charlottesville, Va.
Police officers in Charlottesville, Va., prepared for a march of white supremacists to a statue of Robert E. Lee that was scheduled for removal from a city park.
The Chronicle Review
What to Do With a Man on Horseback
By Troy Duster
Don’t remove problematic statues, like that of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville. Challenge them, in the service of history.