Resolution 20-01, Regarding the Board of Trustees’ Vote to Remove Building Names that Honor Individuals Tied to White Supremacy and Racism
RESOLUTION OF THE EMPLOYEE FORUM
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
August 5, 2020
WHEREAS, it is customary for the Employee Forum to recognize changes in administrative policies and practices to the benefit of University employees; and
WHEREAS, the University Board of Trustees voted on July 29, 2020 to remove the names from four campus buildings that honor individuals tied to white supremacy and racism; and
WHEREAS, this renaming represents a tangible step in the effort to break apart the systematic racism that has permeated the University’s history; and
WHEREAS, removing the names of these individuals serves to reduce the strength of racism and white supremacy on campus affairs and the campus workplace; and,
WHEREAS, removing this divisive imprint from the campus nomenclature, if not its history, removes official endorsement of these odious sentiments that serve only to divide one from another,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Employee Forum hereby lauds the work of the Commission on History, Race & A Way Forward in documenting the misdeeds of these individuals and their exercise of “influence and public trust” against Black North Carolinians, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Employee Forum also lauds the actions of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees to remove these individuals’ names from these buildings, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Employee Forum urges that the Commission’s work continue, as these efforts are overdue, necessary, and appropriate.
Signed on behalf of the Delegates of the Employee Forum
Shayna Hill, Chair