Graduate student, Maya Little was arrested and charged with inciting a riot and assault of a police officer this week, after she led a protest against the University of Chapel Hill’s decision to bring back a confederate statue that was ripped down earlier this year. The 26-year-old student was forced to turn herself in at the Orange County Courthouse on Tuesday, according to a report from NPR.
UNC announced that it would be recommending that statue of the Confederate soldier “Silent Sam” be replaced and relocated a mile away from where it originally stood on campus grounds, prior to it being ripped down back in August. As a part of the plan that was developed by the University Chancellor, Carol Folt, the school would be building a multi-million dollar history and education center, and the statue would be housed at this new center.
In a tweet the Chancellor explained that she knew there are “strong emotions” about the proposal, but, “As the nations’s first public university, North Carolina has a long and complicated history we must tell.” According to NPR, her proposal was “overwhelmingly approved” by its trustees.
I understand there are strong emotions about this proposal. As the nation’s first public university, Carolina has a long and complicated history we must tell. We are recommending to build a center to tell all of that history, which includes the Confederate Monument. https://t.co/4nvoID9sTv
— Carol Folt (@ChancellorFolt) December 3, 2018
During this move of resistance, students protested by giving speeches presented by Little and other demonstrators. They also marched and changed, “No KKK, no fascist USA” and “Cops and Klan go hand in hand.” In an interview with The News & Observer, Little explained, “I was charged with assault on an officer, a charge that has been commonly used by UNC police when they can’t find anything else to charge activists with, and inciting a riot, both misdemeanors. The only danger and violence present last night was once again caused by university police who came equipped to a student protest with riot gear and tear gas canisters.” Along with Little , another student, Mark Porlides was also arrested and charged with assault on a police officer, resisting, delaying or obstructing.
The statue, erected in 1913, was gifted to the school by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Chancellor Folt stated she wanted to move the statue off-campus, but isn’t allowed to do so because of a law that “prohibits the transfer, altering, removal of historic monuments on public property with prior approval from NC’s Historical Commission.”
This past spring, Little, who is now working on her Doctorate in history, coated the statue in red ink and her own blood, stating “Imagine walking past a statue that glorifies the sale of your ancestors, their mutilation, the beating of them, the enslavement of them…he’s covered in black blood.” This act was Little’s first arrest, along with an added vandalism charge by university police.
Source NPR
Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion
