The “Silent Sam” statue that stood on a University of North Carolina campus for over 100 years will be given to the Sons of Confederate Soldiers after being toppled by protesters last year.
The statue settlement comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
As part of the agreement to hand over the statue, the group of descendents of Confederate War veterans had to agree that the statue won’t be re-erected in any of the 14 counties in which the college has a campus — including Chapel Hill, where the eight foot bronze memorial stood for a century.
“The safety and security concerns expressed by students, faculty and staff are genuine, and we believe this consent judgment not only addresses those concerns but does what is best for the university, and the university community in full compliance with North Carolina law,” Jim Holmes, a member of the UNC Board of Governors, said in a statement.
The judge in the case also ruled that the organization will be able to access a private fund by the university of up to $2.5 million for statue preservation and transportation expenses. No state money will be used in the fund.
In August of last year, protesters toppled the statue claiming that it was a “racist symbol.”
The Associated Press reports:
In late 2018, the statewide governing board rejected a proposal overseen by then-Chancellor Carol Folt to move the statue from a main quad and build a $5 million facility for it elsewhere on campus. Weeks later, Folt ordered the removal of the base while also announcing she was stepping down as chancellor.
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