Unsung Founders Memorial

Unsung Founders Memorial
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Unsung Founders Memorial in December 2012.
Erected	November 5, 2005
Location	Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The Unsung Founders Memorial at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is located in McCorkle Place, one of the University’s quads. The memorial is a black granite tabletop supported by 300 bronze figurines and surrounded by 5 black stone seats. The inscription around the edge of the table says “The Class Of 2002 Honors The University's Unsung Founders - The People Of Color Bound And Free - Who Helped Build The Carolina That We Cherish Today.”^[1] The memorial was a class gift by the Class of 2002 and was one of the most successful endeavors for fundraising for a class gift to the University.^[2]

History and funding

In order to fund enough money for the Unsung Founders Memorial to be created the 2002 senior class raised about $54,000. This fundraising way exceeded the class goal of raising $40,000. The seniors themselves contributed $20,000 of the $54,000 and the rest was donated by parents, friends, faculty and friends of the University through fundraising efforts. The additional $40,000 needed to complete the memorial was secured by the provost’s office. The final cost of the memorial itself was around $80,000 and the remaining funds were used for site preparation in addition to the installation ceremony. Emily Stevens who is the director of the young alumni program for the Office of Development commented on the success of fundraising efforts of the class of 2002 and bragged that "The effort the class put forth to get the word out was a major factor".^[2]

Students initially sent out about seventy requests to various artists and heard back from eleven of the requested individuals. The students narrowed the choices down to four artists and three of them came to Chapel Hill for interviews.^[3] Do-Ho Suh was the Korean artist that was eventually selected to create the memorial. Suh had an artistic background with work that exemplifies the concepts of collective versus individual and identity versus anonymity.^[4]

After selecting the artist, the issue of placement on campus was next. The location for the memorial was selected by finding an agreement between Do-Ho Suh, the 2002 senior class officers and of course the final approval of the UNC Building Grounds Committee. Originally Do-Ho Suh had identified three locations on campus that would be ideal for the memorial. The UNC Building Grounds committee had to review all three locations to approve a spot for the placements of the memorial. Ultimately the students wanted the location to be a prominent spot on the University but preserving the look of the University was of utmost importance. University Grounds Director Kirk Pelland expressed concerns about the possible memorial locations and importance of determining how that might affect the large trees on campus.^[2]

Dedication

The Installation of the Unsung Founders memorial occurred on May 11th 2005 and the dedication ceremony was held on November 5th 2005.^[5] The ceremony was held at 10 a.m. at the site of the memorial on McCorkle Place quadrangle in front of the Alumni Building, near Franklin Street, on the Carolina campus.^[6] The ceremony featured speakers including James Moeser, UNC Chancellor and Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, dean of the UNC College of Arts and Science. In addition, the 2002 senior class officers Ben Singer who served as the president and Byron Wilson who served as the vice president also spoke at the ceremony. James Moeser speech included:^[5]

What we do today will not rectify what our ancestors did in the past, But this memorial, I believe, attests to our commitment to shed light on the darker corners of our history. Yes, the University’s first leaders were slaveholders. It is also true that the contributions of African American servants and slaves were crucial to its success.

According to Chancellor Moeser, this memorial did not emerge from some committee of campus administrators or panel of faculty experts, "[It] arose from the inspiration of our students." Furthermore, "The Class of 2002 voted overwhelmingly in favor of creating this as their senior class gift. They voted overwhelmingly to make an honest judgment on difficult events.” He goes on to state:^[5]

Suh’s creation here on McCorkle Place is a splendid piece. One thing that has struck me is how it not only captures the spirit of the senior class’s intent, but provides a functional space that passersby already have embraced. Students sit here to study notes before class, spreading their books across the tabletop. Others come to enjoy a picnic lunch. In fact, this piece does for us what the people it honors did for us — that is, makes Carolina a better place to be.

Gray-Little added that “One of the troublesome legacies of slavery is the pall that it casts over the family histories of those who were bought and sold, This monument finally recognizes the many unnamed whose toil and talent made the nation’s first public university possible.”^[5]

Controversy

Some individuals believe that the size of the monument is also an issue in comparison to other monuments on campus. Yonni Chapman, an African American Studies scholar, pointed out that the memorial lacked the same scale as other memorials. He quoted a newspaper writer and stated that the memorial “midgitized” the impact and contributions that the slaves had on the University of North Carolina.^[7] Less than one hundred yards away stands Silent Sam, a 20 foot tall monument that honors Confederate soldiers. The Unsung Founders memorial was meant to counter Silent Sam.^[8] Instead, this juxtaposition between the two monuments has also been an issue of controversy. Silent Sam is a large statue, especially when compared to the low-to-the ground Unsung Founders Memorial.^[3] The small statue is said to be often unnoticed on campus and is sometimes bypassed purposefully or simply overlooked.^[9] In addition to the size and placement of the memorial some individuals take issue with the wording on the monument. The memorial never explicitly mentions the word “slave” anywhere on it, therefore not directly addressing what the monument is meant to represent. Tim McMillan notes that on his tours around campus he has only encountered one physical marker (a headstone in the segregated cemetery) that actually uses the word “slave”.^[7]

Artist selection

During a meeting attending by about 55 individuals entitled "What Would It Take to Heal the Wounds of Racism in Chapel Hill," C.J. Suitt expressed his issues with the memorial specifically regarding the creation of it. He stated that it was “appalling” to him that only one black individual was on the memorial committee and that none of the artists considered were African American. He further stated that the artist was chosen only based on specializing in miniatures. University officials responded and cleared up this argument by confirming that two of the four committee members were African American and one of the three artists who came to Chapel Hill during the selection process was African American.^[3]

Use of memorial

Closeup of figurines.

The Unsung Founders Memorial was meant to be a “working monument” so students and visitors could make use of the table-like features to sit and study.^[7] The monument could be explained as a sort of introspective memorial including a bench where individuals are able to sit and meditate on what the memorial honors. These types of interactive monuments invite individuals to reflect but do not give them explicit directions or explicit methods to do so.^[9] Tim McMillan is an anthropologist and a UNC professor in the African American Studies Department and leads the Black and Blue Tour which visits prominent sites on campus that reflect UNC’s black history.^[7] McMillan says that it is this very functionality that makes the monument problematic especially when he sees the monument being used for situations such a diaper changing.^[4] Yonni Chapman, who wrote his doctoral dissertation at UNC on the role African Americans played in the building of the University, said that “The black workers holding up the table are nearly invisible to such visitors, who inadvertently kick mud in the faces of the unsung founders. Disrespected, poorly paid and anonymous black workers have always carried the weight of the university on their backs. ... Now they have a monument that supposedly honors them by mocking their sacrifice."^[7] Beth Braxton, who was UNC's director of annual giving, countered this argument by saying "It's a piece of art; just like any piece of art, it's subjective. They don't look small to me. They look mighty. They're Herculean. They're holding up this ... huge heavy weight of the world."^[3]

References