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"We are part of a long tradition of civil rights in this country. We as a country have a lot of change and a lot of healing to do, and we are not going to get there putting racism on a pedestal," said Andrew Skinner, a 23-year-old University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate. (Photo: WRAL News in NC/Twitter)
Yet another racist monument down, around 1,700 more to go.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy. It's time to tear down Silent Sam. It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
--Maya Little, student activist
What began as a demonstration in support of student activist Maya Little--who was arrested in April for pouring red ink and her own blood on the Confederate statue "Silent Sam," located on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus--ended in students and other protesters ripping the monument down Monday night after denouncing the school's administrators for refusing to remove the symbol of racism and oppression.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy," said Little, who attended and delivered a speech at Monday's demonstration. "It's time to tear down 'Silent Sam.' It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
Watch the moment when the statue was toppled, leaving "Silent Sam" face-down in the dirt:
"So thankful for the students at UNC who toppled the Confederate statue on their campus. They did what the administration and politicians in North Carolina should've done decades ago," The Intercept's Shaun King wrote on Twitter early Tuesday. "It was erected at the height of lynching by friends of the KKK as an act of intimidation."
"Silent Sam," a monument of a Confederate soldier, was constructed in 1913 with donations from the the United Daughters of the Confederacy. According to the local Raleigh News & Observer, UNC-Chapel Hill spent $390,000 on surveillance cameras and other protections for the statue last year alone.
Just before they felled the Confederate monument, "protesters covered the statue with tall, gray banners, erecting 'an alternative monument' that said, in part, 'For a world without white supremacy,'" the News & Observer reported.
Andrew Skinner, a 23-year-old UNC graduate, said in an interview with the News & Observer that the demonstrators' destruction of the Confederate statue "shows that we have the power to be on the right side of history."
"We are part of a long tradition of civil rights in this country," Skinner added. "We as a country have a lot of change and a lot of healing to do, and we are not going to get there putting racism on a pedestal."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Yet another racist monument down, around 1,700 more to go.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy. It's time to tear down Silent Sam. It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
--Maya Little, student activist
What began as a demonstration in support of student activist Maya Little--who was arrested in April for pouring red ink and her own blood on the Confederate statue "Silent Sam," located on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus--ended in students and other protesters ripping the monument down Monday night after denouncing the school's administrators for refusing to remove the symbol of racism and oppression.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy," said Little, who attended and delivered a speech at Monday's demonstration. "It's time to tear down 'Silent Sam.' It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
Watch the moment when the statue was toppled, leaving "Silent Sam" face-down in the dirt:
"So thankful for the students at UNC who toppled the Confederate statue on their campus. They did what the administration and politicians in North Carolina should've done decades ago," The Intercept's Shaun King wrote on Twitter early Tuesday. "It was erected at the height of lynching by friends of the KKK as an act of intimidation."
"Silent Sam," a monument of a Confederate soldier, was constructed in 1913 with donations from the the United Daughters of the Confederacy. According to the local Raleigh News & Observer, UNC-Chapel Hill spent $390,000 on surveillance cameras and other protections for the statue last year alone.
Just before they felled the Confederate monument, "protesters covered the statue with tall, gray banners, erecting 'an alternative monument' that said, in part, 'For a world without white supremacy,'" the News & Observer reported.
Andrew Skinner, a 23-year-old UNC graduate, said in an interview with the News & Observer that the demonstrators' destruction of the Confederate statue "shows that we have the power to be on the right side of history."
"We are part of a long tradition of civil rights in this country," Skinner added. "We as a country have a lot of change and a lot of healing to do, and we are not going to get there putting racism on a pedestal."
Yet another racist monument down, around 1,700 more to go.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy. It's time to tear down Silent Sam. It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
--Maya Little, student activist
What began as a demonstration in support of student activist Maya Little--who was arrested in April for pouring red ink and her own blood on the Confederate statue "Silent Sam," located on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus--ended in students and other protesters ripping the monument down Monday night after denouncing the school's administrators for refusing to remove the symbol of racism and oppression.
"It's time to build monuments to honor those who have been murdered by white supremacy," said Little, who attended and delivered a speech at Monday's demonstration. "It's time to tear down 'Silent Sam.' It's time to tear down UNC's institutional white supremacy."
Watch the moment when the statue was toppled, leaving "Silent Sam" face-down in the dirt:
"So thankful for the students at UNC who toppled the Confederate statue on their campus. They did what the administration and politicians in North Carolina should've done decades ago," The Intercept's Shaun King wrote on Twitter early Tuesday. "It was erected at the height of lynching by friends of the KKK as an act of intimidation."
"Silent Sam," a monument of a Confederate soldier, was constructed in 1913 with donations from the the United Daughters of the Confederacy. According to the local Raleigh News & Observer, UNC-Chapel Hill spent $390,000 on surveillance cameras and other protections for the statue last year alone.
Just before they felled the Confederate monument, "protesters covered the statue with tall, gray banners, erecting 'an alternative monument' that said, in part, 'For a world without white supremacy,'" the News & Observer reported.
Andrew Skinner, a 23-year-old UNC graduate, said in an interview with the News & Observer that the demonstrators' destruction of the Confederate statue "shows that we have the power to be on the right side of history."
"We are part of a long tradition of civil rights in this country," Skinner added. "We as a country have a lot of change and a lot of healing to do, and we are not going to get there putting racism on a pedestal."